


Let It Snow

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Just Write It [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Angst, Bambietta & Toushirou - Twins, Family, Gen, M/M, Minor Bazz-B/Cang Du, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Rangiku & Toushirou - Mother/Son (Biological)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 24,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25154791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: The falling of the snow is peaceful, but the war the Quincy and Shinigami finished fighting was not. Toshiro's left emotionally broken while his fukutaicho Rangiku refuses to wake from her coma. Isane's dealing with a major loss to her division, and Bazz-B's figuring out what it means for the Shinigami and Quincy to live side by side with each other despite their differences.
Relationships: Bambeitta Basterbine & Bazz-B, Bambietta Basterbine & Hitsugaya Toushirou, Bambietta Basterbine & Matsumoto Rangiku, Bazz-B & Hitsugaya Toushirou
Series: Just Write It [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822042
Kudos: 5
Collections: Bleach: Quincy & Shingami - Factions of Soul Society, Bleach: Toushirou's Parents Are..., Bleach: Toushirou's Twin is..., Platonic Relationships





	1. Snowing Outside

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach. This was written for Wattpad's Just Write It for the month of August. The goal was to write any story with 10k or more.
> 
> Note – I originally forgot to mention the story is post-zombie experience, but also AU to chapter 644 as I started this piece prior to the release of chapter 644. Speaking of which, I would also like to warn people to be wary regarding unofficial translations. I've seen quite a few translation issues for the final arc not limited to chapter 644.
> 
> Did you know the misconception that people don't age in Soul Society stems from an old translation error by scanlaters back when Ichigo and his friends arrived in Soul Society? The translation error occurred over twelve years ago, and yet this misconception persists in cropping up in fanfics people write. I'm not referring to "what if" stories here either.

"It's snowing outside."

Isane stopped scribbling information onto the numerous number of forms generated from the war with the Quincy upon hearing the excitement in Hanataro's voice. Here eyes darted over to the window, and saw the soft white snowflakes falling against the grey background of the sky. "It looks like a snowstorm's approaching. How many medical Shinigami are on duty?"

The soft snowflakes fell outside the silent window from the darkening sky above. The fukutaicho of the forth waited for an answer to come from the younger Shinigami, but none came. She carefully turned her head to look at the brown haired youth, and watched as Hanataro's brown eyes darted to the wall nervously rather then looking her in the eye. His mouth also turned down as if something was bothering him.

"Most of the staff, we gave them the day off. We're operating on a skeleton crew." The young Shinigami's eyes darted towards the window. "Isn't it a bit odd that it's snowing this time of year?"

Isane answered the question by standing up so she loomed over the small Shinigami. Hanataro's eyes darted towards her indicating he needed more then the silent reply. "I guess so."

"This isn't because..." The young Shinigami's words choked out, and Hanataro yet again turned his head so his brown eyes didn't look her in the eye. "... this isn't because of Hitsugaya Taicho?"

Isane stood there frowning at the young Shinigami wondering if she should tell Hanataro what she really felt. She finally shook her head. "Don't' say such things. It's possible for snow to fall during the summer months."

The fukutaicho of the forth division watched as Hanataro continued to look away, and finally he turned to speak his mind despite the fact doing so was out of character for him. "I know it's possible for snow to fall this early, I don't think it's possible for there to be snow storms around this time of year.

The light haired female felt her mouth twist into a frown. " _The implication is Hitsugaya Taicho is losing control of his own abilities due to the emotional stress he's under._ " A deep sigh escaped her lips, and she quickly left the office to try and take care of the problem. " _I need to do my job, and not fret about my feelings. A Shinigami isn't supposed to feel any kind of emotion._ " Another voice in the back of her mind nagged away as she walked through the forth division halls. " _That's a lie. He's a prime example, and you're honestly worried you'll lose another one._ "

Isane arrived at the small room, and let out a deep sigh before stepping into the room. Stepping in her violet eyes picked up sight of a small figure sitting on the bed in the private room with his right leg visably bandaged up. The white head of hair was nearly buried as the child taicho let his thin arms cover his head. A cold chill permeated the room, and yet the youth didn't try to cover up his thin, frail arms and legs to keep them warm.

The child simply sat there on the bed ignoring everything going on around him. A tray of food sat untouched on the table beside him, and alarms went off in Isane's mind. The light haired adult female slipped over and sat down slowly, and gently next to the boy hoping she wouldn't set him off. She reached her hand out to touch the boy's thin shoulder, only for Toshiro to jolt when her fingers came only a few inches away from her. "Don't touch me!"

Isane's pale eyes narrowed, and the corners of her mouth pushed down and in as she watched the small child push his legs and arms out so he could move away from her. Toshiro managed to back himself into a corner despite the awkward movement of his small limbs. His head hung down so his white locks of hair hung down hiding his eyes. The child's breathing came in pants.

"Hitsugaya Taicho?" Isane swallowed as the child didn't respond. "Hitsugaya Taicho, I need you to calm down and look me in the eye." Toshiro's small body shuddered as he worked on bringing his heavy breathing under control, and then he titled his head up so that his bright teal eyes looked her in the eye. The evident pain reflected in the eyes made Isane swallow again, and her eyes traced the frown on the boy's face. "Hi."

The fukutaicho of the forth watched the small taicho startle at this comment. Toshiro's head tilted to the side slightly, and some of the tension in his limbs left. The boy tried opening his mouth to say something, but quickly snapped shut when nothing came out.

"You need to eat something." Isane watched the boy shake his head. "Hitsugaya Taicho."

"I can't." The young taicho pulled his thin legs up to his chest, and rested his chin on top of his knees. "Is Rangiku going to die?"

The female fukutaicho startled. " _He called her Rangiku instead of Matsumoto._ " The woman forced her mouth into a frown despite the sharp tightening in her chest indicating she wanted to cry. "Now why would you think that?"

"Everybody else did."

Isane let out a deep breath, and one hand started up to touch the soft head of white hair in an attempt to comfort the child. Her other hand reached up to stop herself, and she shook her head remembering how Toshiro had flinched when she almost touched him before. She turned her head away so he couldn't look her in the eye and tell she didn't believe what she was saying. "She'll be fine. Give her some time."

A silence fell over the room, and something made her look up into the young taicho's eyes. His normally bright teal eyes lacked the usual spark she was used to, and he looked more frail then he usually did. Isane felt her teeth brush slightly against her bottom lip, and she reached out for a blanket folded at the foot of the bed, and draped it over the boy's shoulders. "Try to eat something." She stood up and left the room. The snow flakes still fell outside, and her worry was far from sated. " _Don't let us lose you as well Hitsugaya Taicho._ "


	2. Burning Dreams

Sitting still, and contemplating life wasn't his thing, but recent events left Bazz-B starring at the white wall in the rebuilt medical division of the Shinigami. The man set his jaw firmly as he stared at the white walls as closing his eyes didn't stop the torrent of thoughts flowing through his mind, nor did it stop the feelings he preferred keeping at bay.

Life had thrown him a nasty curve ball. The fingers of Bazz-B's good arm bit tightly into the arm placed into a swing causing the knuckles of said hand to turn white. Tension wracked his entire body as he weighed out the pros and cons of his side losing to the Shinigami. " _We lost yet again to our life long enemies, and yet I always felt the real enemy was Juhabach. I switched sides in front of the Shinigami, so it really is no surprise that they're being amicable towards myself. What then is my problem?_ "

Bazz-B leaned back his head letting the wall bend his red mowhawk, and he closed his eyes knowing full well he needed sleep after receiving the injuries he did from Jugram. " _I guess I still have unresolved business with him despite the fact I lost. Strange as I don't feel bad losing to him._ "

The man let his body relax, and soon he drifted off allowing him to go to another place. Bazz-B took in the place around him, and felt the tension come back as the familiarity caused a sinking feeling in his stomach. The stark white buildings towered around him, and it was as if the place was never destroyed in the first place. " _And yet I know this place doesn't exist anymore. My childhood home burned a long time ago._ "

He found himself walking away from the buildings he once called home only to stop as he felt a tug at his clothing. He heard a soft childish voice from behind him call out. "Onii-chan, I want to go with you. I want to play with you."

"You can't come with me to see Jugram. You're to little, and we're not playing."

"I'm not to little! I want to go to."

Bazz-B glanced over his shoulder, but he couldn't see the face of the child. He did however feel something silver slip from his hand, and out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a silver necklace. " _How could I have forgotten all of this. No, it's not that I forgot. I just don't like remembering._ "

He continued towards the forest with the soft childish voice calling out to him. Instead of coming out where he met Juhgram he came out at a place he could see his childhood home again. Bazz-B felt his throat tighten as his eyes took in the fire. He could make out the shadow of a small figure, and he heard a soft childish voice call out for him. "Help me onii-chan. I'm scared."

The shadow of the small figure reached out one hand towards his, and he stretched out his own to try and grab the small hand. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't reach the arm, and then his eyes snapped open to reality. Bazz-B felt a crick in his neck as he looked at the white wall, and his arm extended out. His teeth gritted together, and a curse escaped his lips. " _Why that dream of all times?_ "

A calloused hand reached up to touch his forehead, and a shudder ran through his body as he closed his eyes. " _I honestly don't feel better now that Juhabach is dead. We lost everything..._ " Bazz-B's eyes snapped open. "What did Juhgram lose? He lost his uncle, but was he ever close to that man?" A sigh escaped through his lips, and the red haired man leaned back against the wall. " _No wonder we choose different paths._ " The man turned his head as he leaned against the wall, and his eyes now looked out the window. Snowflakes fell outside of the window, and the sky seemed to be darkening. " _Isn't this the wrong time of the year for a snowstorm?_ "

A restlessness overcame the man, and he twisted his body around so his legs swung out to the ground. He pushed himself up off the bed with his good arm, and then proceeded to walk the halls. A light appeared in one of the rooms, and he stepped over to see some of the female Quincy who survived the war playing cards as they sprawled about in different positions in the room. He stopped and leaned against the door frame.

The first to notice him was Liltotto, and the look she gave him made it clear she was not pleased to see him. "What do you want?"

"I'm just curious about what all of you are up to."

He watched as Bambietta raised a hand to brush back some of her dark, curling locks. "Busy. Ignoring the Shinigami."

" _At least she's not going around blowing things up. None of them seem like their usual selves though._ " The man continued to lean against the door watching the young female Quincy.

Candace cast a death glare at him with her golden colored eyes. "What exactly are you up to? Isn't it rather creepy to be looking at a bunch of girls like this? And didn't you blast us with your attack when we tried taking Kurosaki's head?"

Bazz-B simply glared back. " _She's got a rather foul mouth. 'She' would have looked a lot like Candy had she survived._ " The red haired man pulled away from the wall as Gigi made an annoying popping sound as she twisted her face up into a rather grotesque expression. " _Rather explains why I don't like her. She's what she should have been._ "

The sound of giggles followed after him, and the loudest came from #M#. The man didn't hear any laughter from Bambietta, but this might be a good thing with her inclination for wanting to blow things up. Bazz-B continued down the hallways with one of his hands shoved into one of his pockets. He stopped just outside of the offices for the forth division, and then without thinking stepped into the room. "I need something to help me sleep."

Isane looked up from her desk and simply stared at the man. "Are you having nightmares?"

"Nightmares, no." Bazz-B's mask quickly went up as he eyed the silver object the fukutaicho of the forth was examining. He opened his mouth to lie, and say " _I simply can't sleep_ ", but the sight of the familiar silver chain and the object attached to the chain caused the direction of his words to change. " _Where_ did you get that?"


	3. No Silver Lining

" _Don't let us lose you as well Hitsugaya Taicho._ " Isane bit back the urge to cry as she headed to another private room in the forth division. She passed by the room shared by Basterbine Bambietta and Catnip Candice, and saw the younger female Quincy gathered in the room enjoying a game of cards as well as gossiping about various things. The dark haired female who was assigned to the room looked up at her and simply glared. A shudder ran down Isane's spine, and she wondered why the look seemed so familiar. She turned to head onto the room she aimed to visit.

For a brief moment she looked in at the still figure lying comatose on the bed, and then turned to head back to the office. An ache pounded in her chest seeing Rangiku like that as well as knowing the secret Unohana left her with. She slipped into the office, and back into the chair at her desk. Hanataro was gone allowing the fukutaicho of the forth to open up the top drawer so she could focus on looking at the two items in the top drawer.

Sitting on top of a carefully folded letter was Rangiku's necklace that she always wore.

Unohana wrote the letter in question before she died revealing many things to her fukutaicho. Isane's hand reached out to touch the letter, but instead her hand simply touched the paper. " _No way I could forget what was written in there. I've read the letter to many times, and the things revealed are rather shocking._ " The woman's thoughts stopped briefly after thinking the word 'shocking', and she pulled the letter out to read. Her lips pushed together as she read each and every detail, and finally she shook her head and set it back down. She picked up the necklace as her lips pushed together.

Isane closed her eyes as she felt the cold chain flow threw her fingers. " _You know full well Rangiku's very unlikely to make it. I don't know what to do._ " Her eyes opened up, and she looked down at the necklace. " _I keep thinking I should tell Hitsugaya Taicho the truth, but doesn't that mean telling him the whole truth? Same goes with giving him her necklace. He's already in a rather sorry state._ "

"I need something to help with my sleep."

The female fukutaicho felt like jumping out of her skin as she looked up at the male Quincy. Bazz-B as he called himself styled his hair into a Mowhawk, and his mannerisms were brash. "Are you having nightmares." Mentally Isane berated herself. " _That's probably not the best thing to ask someone like him._ "

"Nightmares, no." A sound came from Bazz-B's mouth as if he wanted to add something to what he just said, but then his eyes fell upon the necklace still in Isane's hand. Her eyes darted down as his tone of voice changed. His voice became sharper, and clearly he was upset by something. " _Where_ did you get that?"

Isane's eyes darted down to the necklace, and a slight sniffle occurred when she started to speak. "This?" Her voice quickly regained composer. "Not that it is any of your business, but this belongs to the fukutaicho of the tenth division."

" _Why_ would you have it? Shouldn't she have it?"

The fukutaicho couldn't help but notice the disgust in his voice, and a frown spread across her face as she stood up to her full height. "Why I have it is none of your business."

"I think you stealing the items of patience is the business of those you work for."

Isane felt her cheeks heat up. "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said."

"I know what you said. I've my reasons for holding onto her necklace right now, and when the time is right I will return it to where it belongs. I _can't_ do that right now as much as I wish I could." The woman watched as Bazz-B continued to glare at her. "What is your problem?"

"Isn't the answer of when to return it simple? You should return it now rather then later."

Isane felt her mouth tighten as she glared at the man. She opened the drawer and slipped the necklace back in. "You _don't_ know the situation. This is also a Shinigami matter." The man continued to glare at her. "I'll go and get you something to help you sleep."

The fukutaicho brushed out of the room, and headed to the place the medicines were kept. She quickly filled up a dose, and headed back. Arriving back at the offices she found Bazz-B to be missing. Isane walked over to the desk, and set the medicine she'd prepared down before sliding the drawer open. Her entire body froze as she saw the necklace was missing. " _How could that Quincy do such a thing?_ "


	4. Daggers of Ice

Upon seeing the familiar object made his chest tighten. " _First I dream of the past, and now I see something I 'never' thought I would see again._ " The first thought through Bazz-B's mind wasn't pleasant either. " _The damn Shinigami stole her necklace._ "

"Not that it is any of your business..."

" _Of course it's my business! I know that necklace to be one of a kind, and I gave it to my kid sister._ " Bazz-B could feel the side of his face and the shoulder on the same side tense up as he continued to glare at the woman.

"... but this belongs to the fukutaicho of the tenth division. She's had it for as long as I can remember."

" _Her?_ " Bazz-B couldn't push the thought of the Shinigami stealing the necklace aside. " _Why_ would you have it? Shouldn't she have it?"

Disdain and disgust filled his voice, and Isane told him yet again that it was none of his business. The man could feel his anger rising as his chest tightened, and his jaw clenched. He could feel his right arm tense indicating his instinct to attack the woman was kicking in. An ache also ran through his right arm as the muscles tensed up, and the attack never came. Instead he simply glared at the woman.

The item in his mind was stolen, and instead of attacking the woman Bazz-B let words come out of his mouth. "I think you stealing the items of patients is the business of those you work for." A thought rushed through the back of the man's mind. " _Not that they would really care._ " The woman of course became upset, and told him some kind of sob story he couldn't be bothered listening to. He got the fact she had reasons for not returning the necklace, but the fact Isane wasn't returning the item still made his blood boil. "Isn't the answer of when to return it simple? You should return it now rather then later."

"You _don't_ know the situation."

Bazz-B felt a sharp twang in his chest for some reason he couldn't place. Isane left to get the medicine as an indicator she was treating the subject as closed. " _It's not at all closed._ _No way in hell am I going to let it be._ " The man slipped over to the desk, and opened up the drawer. His eyes darted down to the silver necklace, and the item at the end of the chain. " _Our family crest._ "

His caloused hand reached in to grab the necklace, and he moved out of the room to go and find the fukutaicho of the tenth division. " _She's my sister whose supposed to be dead? I can't imagine her surviving, let alone getting along with the Shinigami. I can ask her though for information on how she got my sister's necklace. I've got to find her first._ "

Bazz-B could feel a familiar cold rieatsu, and he headed to the room where he knew the captain of the tenth would be. "Yo!" He rose his hand up so his palm was flat, and the necklace hung down. The young taicho jumped at the sound of Bazz-B's voice, and then he back peddled to the corner of his bed. His teal eyes looked at the man as if he were some kind of animal caught in the headlights of a car. "What's the matter?"

The man heard no answer, and simply stepped towards the boy. He could see that the youth was visibly scaring, and he shoved his hand into his pocket. Bazz-B watched the boy's eyes travel with the hand. For a few minutes Toshiro remained silent, and they he said one word. "Why?"

"Why what?" Bazz-B watched the boy swallow, and then glance away so he didn't have to look the man in the eye. "You should speak up when you have something to say rather then acting like you're going to cry. You're a man aren't you?" He watched as the boy flinched, and then shook his head. "I want to know where your fukutaicho is?" Toshiro's shaking increased, and then he shook his head. "What? You haven't been to see her?"

Another affirmative came, and suddenly Bazz-B reached out to grab the boy and lift him up. The small taicho let out a squeak, and the man realized the white haired youth in front of him was a changed person from when they fought. The man let go of the front of the boy's clothing and let him drop. He shoved his one good hand back into his pocket. "I don't get it. You've not been to see her, and you're also acting like a complete wuss."

Toshiro's mouth opened, and then the boy shook his head.

"Come on, speak up."

"If I go see her she'll die like everybody else."

Bazz-B stared at the boy thinking carefully about what the boy said. A sigh escaped through Bazz-B's mouth. "What? Do you think you're some kind of curse?" The man watched the boy flinch. "Seriously..." The man turned to leave, but felt something tug at his clothing. A glance back from Bazz-B made him see the boy had latched on. "What?"

"Why do you have Rangiku's necklace?" The young taicho couldn't make eye contact with him.

"Why? None of your business."

"That's her necklace though. She's always had it."

"What do you mean she's always had it."

"As long as she can remember."

Bazz-B pulled away leaving the boy in the room. He let his heavy boots sound off on the halls of the forth division as his mouth twisted down, and he glared at the forth division members as he passed them be. Out of the corner of his eye he would look into the rooms to see if the fukutaicho of the tenth division was there. He finally caught a glimpse of strawberry blond hair, and stepped into the room so he could speak with the female.

The male Quincy froze upon seeing the prone figure lying on the bed, and a mix of feelings ricochet though his skull. First though was that it was her, and then as he tried denying the thought of that woman being his younger sister he felt the pieces of his memory come back, and the face of the small child appeared. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he continued to look at the woman, and a feeling of frustration welled in his chest.

"Hey."

No response came from the young female in the bed, and Bazz-B noticed the oxygen mask he was trying to ignore. The grimace on his face softened as did his other facial features, and the urge to curse came over him. Something though held him back, and instead he stepped forward to pick up the chart at the foot of her bed, this time leaving the necklace in his pocket. A deeper sinking feeling came over him as he read her chart.

… comatose …

Bazz-B took a deep breath through his nose, and then put the chart back. He shoved his one good hand back into his pocket and looked at her wondering what he should say. "Damn. All this time I thought you were dead, and now here you are like this. Not to mention the fact..." The man swallowed. " _We were fighting on opposite sides, and I was paired up against you in that fight. I'm a louse for not noticing, but..._ " Another thought crept into his head. " _... you might not actually be her. I mean, she's a Quincy like me._ "

He stepped backwards, and then turned to leave. He found himself heading back to the office, and when he stepped in he froze upon seeing Isane glare at him. The fukutaicho of the forth wasn't at all pleased with the scenario.


	5. Fire Brand

" _How could that Quincy do such a thing?_ " Isane debated whether or not she should go and find the Quincy in question, but another thought crossed her mind. " _He can't go anywhere. He's still healing from his injuries, and it really does like we're going to have a snowstorm in the middle of the winter._ " Her eyes drifted over to the window. " _It really does look like Hitugaya may be loosing control of his powers. I think though the head captain will be stopping by, so we should be fine. He's good at calming Hitsugaya Taicho down._ "

The rather tall woman started working on her paperwork again, and tried to forget about the discourtesy the man had shown towards Rangiku. The fact he'd simply taken the necklace kept bugging at her, and she wasn't pleased when she felt his rieatsu coming back to the office meaning he had the gall to return. She looked up at him and felt her facial features twist up slightly. "You."

"Me."

Isane swallowed as she looked at the man. On top of having the gall to return to the scene of the crime he had the gall to act like he'd done anything wrong. "You took Matsumoto Rangiku's necklace didn't you?"

"What of it?"

The woman found herself standing up to her full height in front of the man again. "What of it? How can you be so callous."

"Callous? You didn't tell me that she's in a comatose."

Bazz-B's response caught her off guard, and she found herself glancing away as she tried to regain her composure. She felt herself worry at her bottom lip. She took a deep breath and looked back at him. "Why should I tell you she's in a coma when it's none of your business? I remember correctly telling you that it was none of your business."

"Obviously you don't understand why I took her necklace, nor did it cross your mind that there is a reason I now know she's in a coma?" The man continued to stand there with his one arm in a swing, and the other with the hand shoved into the pocket.

"You took her necklace back?" Isane felt her throat tighten, and an itch started up as she tried not to yell at him. "You're a Quincy!"

"She..." Bazz-B started off returning the same tone of voice, but quickly his mouth snapped shut. "Well, that's none of your business is it?"

Isane worried at her lip again. " _What does he mean by it's none of my business?"_

"You know, if you'd simply told me she was in a coma and that was why you were holding onto your necklace you would have saved us both a lot of trouble."

The woman felt the tips of her ears heat up as the man lectured her on how to do her job. "Now see here! How can I tell anybody that she's in a comatose state and might not make it when I can't even tell her own son!"

She watched as the color left Bazz-B's face. The man's eyes also widened in horror, and his facial features were no longer curled up into a hardened glare. For a few minutes he simply stared at her, and she felt confusion rushing through her head. "Son? She has a son?"

" _That_ is none of your business."

" _None_ of my business?" The man's tone of voice tensed, and his facial features hardened again. "What would you know? What do you mean she _has_ a son?"

"I said what I mean, and that's all you're going to get out of me."

Bazz-B instead stepped towards her and her desk, and his one good hand came out of his pocket to slam down onto the table. The man was obviously quite livid, and the temperature in the room rose as his anger spiked. "Who is her son? How do you even know that child's hers?"

Isane glared at the man, and kept her mouth shut. " _Does he really think he's going to get anything out of me? He can think again._ "

"Fine. Whose taking care of her child right now? How come you haven't told him that his mother might not make it? Seriously! You Shinigami are complete idiots!"

"I've told you that this is none of your business, so please go back to your room." The fukutaicho suddenly found herself wishing Unohana was still around.

"None of my business?" Bazz-B snapped at her, and then pulled back. "Fine. I just need to wait until he stops by to visit her. I'll meet him then."

The forth division fukutaicho felt her shoulders relax. "Well your out of luck. He's not been to visit her at all."

Instead of backing down the man became even more livid. "What do you _mean_ he's not been to visit her? She's his mother isn't she? That's as crazy as..."

Isane watched as Bazz-B blinked a couple of times. "What?"

The man took a deep breath. "Hitsugaya Taicho."

"What about him?" The woman hoped she didn't do anything right then to give away the fact she was upset he guessed so quickly.

"I think you know." Bazz-B leaned back on his heals as he shoved his hand into his pocket. "I think I should just go and tell him the truth."

"Don't you dare!" Isane could feel a sudden panic come on similar to when someone placed her least favorite food in front of her.

"Why not? It's a lot better then what you're doing." The man turned to walk away, and he moved quickly."

"Wait! I'll tell you what you want to know! Just close the door." Isane felt herself swallow as she wondered whether this was a good idea or not. " _He doesn't need to know, but I doubt I could stop him from talking to Hitsugaya Taicho about this matter. Who knows what kind of damage that would cause._ "

The man stopped, and then he turned to look at her. His good hand reached out to close the door, and then he came over and sat down in the chair on the opposite side of her desk. He kicked up his booted feet onto the edge of her desk, and his good arm folded behind his head. "All right. I'm listening. You'd better be honest with me about everything."


	6. Ice Cold

Why he decided to go back to the office Bazz-B honestly didn't know. Everything pointed to his anger boiling over which in turn would lead to him doing something rash that he would later regret. The woman thought taking his sister's necklace was callous, but so was the fact Isane didn't tell him that his little sister was in a coma. She again insisted the situation was none of his business, and he almost let it slip to a Shinigami that his sister was actually a Quincy.

"... I can't even tell her own son!"

The man at first felt his mind go numb at Isane's slip of the tongue. The frustration, and anger he felt earlier quickly became more poignant. Bazz-B started putting pressure on her for answers in an attempt to avoid thinking about the worried feeling threatening to make him loose control. Truth be told he didn't like the emotions shooting through his skull. A thought at the back of his head told him the feelings were somehow familiar.

Isane thankfully had another slip of the tongue. "Well you're out of luck. He's not been to visit her at all."

The man could feel the nasty feeling growing as his thoughts suddenly turned to the small taicho he'd spoken to only a short while before seeing Matsumoto Rangiku in her comatose state. The urge to go and speak to the child again crept through the back of his mind, and suddenly he made the rash decision to go and visit the boy. To what end he honestly did not know, but his attempt to leave made the fukutaicho of the forth finally give in.

"Wait! I'll tell you what you want to know! Just close the door."

Bazz-B made himself comfortable and let his one hand cross behind the back of his head. His mind wished for his other hand not to be in a sling for the sake of more comfort. He continued to glare at the woman. Isane let out a deep breath and looked at the table, and one of Bazz-B's eyebrows rose up. " _Seems like her real personality is rather timid."_

"I'm going to start off by saying the situation is complicated, and I don't know all of the details. I only know what Unohana Taicho was able to put together, and even then I don't know if she left everything she knew in the letter she left me. _"_

" _There was a letter under her necklace._ " Bazz-B cursed himself for not having taken the time to read the letter while he was in the office before.

"Truth be told I'm not sure how to put any of this. It's not as I say a simple matter."

"How about telling me who the father is?"

"The father?" Isane shook her head. "I'd rather _not_ talk about him."

"You said you would tell me everything. Why doesn't the kid know his mother is dying?"

"Matsumoto Rangiku's not dying, but there is a very slim chance of her waking up."

"You said she might not make it. Sounds like she's dying to me." Bazz-B watched as the woman flinched.

"Sorry. It just feels like she's gone already." The woman's eyes darted away so she wasn't looking him in the eye. "I really don't know where to begin with this, so you might as well start asking questions."

" _More like you're trying to avoid the subject all together._ " The man moved his good arm from behind his head, and set it down onto the table. "One of the questions I asked you earlier was how do you know she has a son? Did she tell you?" Bazz-B felt his jaw clench shut as he glared at the female. " _Rather, it was odd those two didn't act like mother and child._ "

"No. The honest truth is neither one of them knows."

"Say _what_?" The Quincy removed his boots from the desk and leaned forward. "I _get_ how a child might not know who their parents are, but how can a mother not know who their child is?"

"I honestly don't know. The person whose most likely to have answers to that question is Ichimaru Gin, but..." Isane shook her head. "We know because Unohana Taicho suspected something and had some tests done."

"Whose this Ichimaru Gin person? Where can I find him?"

"You can't. For all we know he's dead. He..." Isane turned her head so she couldn't look the Quincy male in the eye. "All we know is he disappeared shortly after the Winter War a year or two ago. He could have run off like he always did in the past, or..." The woman swallowed. "... or his body could have disintegrated, and he's been returned to the cycle of rebirth. He's really got no reason to return here after everything he's done."

"Exactly who is this person? Why would he be the one to have the answers?"

Bazz-B watched as Isane took a deep breath. "He would have the answers because, well, a lot of people have noticed how much like him Hitugaya Taicho is."

"Like him?"

Isane turned her head back to the man. "Looks, thought process, the fact they're both child geniuses. The only difference is Hitsugaya Taicho has no psychopathic tendencies."

" _No, the kid's got psychopathic tendencies. I saw some of them sneak through, and I heard from Gigi the kind of things she was able to pull off._ " The man took a deep breath. "Wait, are you telling me that this Ichimaru Gin person is the kids father?"

The woman nodded her head. "That's why Unohana suspected something, particularly after the Winter War. The only person he _ever_ got close to was Rangiku-san, but... well, I guess you could say he got along with the Shiba clan as well, but I guess you could say he was close to the Hitsugaya Taicho as well. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"If you didn't know that he was Hitsugaya Taicho's father you would think he was doing the things he was doing because he'd been replaced as the child genius. That's one of the reasons everyone thought he was close to the Shiba clan. The previous geniuses were the Shiba clan twins." Isane swallowed. "I think I'm revealing to much."

"No, there is still information I need." Bazz-B folded his one good arm so his arms were crossed. "Why doesn't he know?"

"Besides the fact Rangiku doesn't know he's her child, and the fact she's not likely to wake up?" The woman looked out the window at the falling snow as she continued to worry her lip.

"There's got to be something else. You were worried about me telling him, almost as if he would break. The kid I fought had a lot of spunk."

"That's because..." Isane took a deep breath. "I don't know how to explain this to someone who doesn't know anything about us."

"Should I just go and tell him the truth then?" Bazz-B watched as the woman caved, and the fright which suddenly appeared on her face.

"Don't! He's emotionally unstable right now, and telling him would send him over the edge." The woman took a deep breath. "I see you're having problems believing me when I say he's emotionally unstable right now."

"Yeah. As I said the kid I fought had spunk."

"You don't know anything about him."

"What parts of the damn puzzle am I missing woman?"

Isane flinched at his comment. Eventually she regained her composure. "We're talking about a child. A child whose only relations growing up were the little old lady who raised him and the foster sister raised by him. A child whose first best friend during the academy ended up killed because they both ended up with the same zampaktuo spirit. A child whose taicho disappeared, and who lost two people who treated him like his own child around the same time. A child whose foster sister disowned him, and who recently lost even more people he cared about."

"And..." Bazz-B watched as the woman looked out the door again. "Wait... this freakish snow fall wouldn't be because of him?"

"He's also not eating, and I don't know how well he's sleeping. So please, we don't want the current head taicho to have to step in. Do you understand?"

"I understand." The man stood up. "I also don't agree."


	7. Falling Embers

"It's snowing outside." Meninas's magenta eyes traveled over to the window.

Bambietta's head darted up from where she lay on her bed, and her mouth twisted down. "So?"

"It's pretty." The magenta haired female Quincy continued to stare out the window.

Candace continued to look at her cards. "I got it. It's pretty. Can we still play?"

Liltotto set her cards down, and moved from where she sat crossed legged on her bed to the window by Bambietta's. "Why's it even snowing this time of year?"

"Honestly, who cares? It's just snow." The younger dark haired female set her cards down and leaned against the palm of her hand. Her violet eyes looked at the other girls.

"Everybody likes snow Bambietta-chan." Meninas' lip curled up into a pout, and she tried her best to maneuver her facial features into a stern look.

The violet eyed Quincy simply stared back, but then felt the need to talk back when the others remained silent to much for her own comfort. "I don't. I don't like the snow."

The response resulted in more silence. Candace took the time to glance out the window, and also set down her cards. Liltotto finally spoke. "Well I like the snow. I want to go out and play in it while it's still nice enough to do so."

Bambietta rolled her eyes before looking back at her cards. "I thought we were all hanging out in our room because we were trying to avoid the Shinigami? Wouldn't going out to play in the snow draw attention to ourselves and make them mad?"

Liltotto moved past her to the door. "I honestly don't care at this point."

The other girls followed after the short blond, and Candice stopped in the door way. "Are you coming or not?"

"As if I would do something as childish as play in the snow."

"Even if it means making the Shinigami mad? I'd think you of all people would want to piss them off."

Bambietta didn't respond to the comment, and after a few minutes of silence realized the other girls were gone. Her violet eyes darted up to the window, and she felt a shudder run down her spine. She set her cards down, and headed out of the room to find something to take her mind off the snow outside, but also still avoid the Shinigami like she wanted. Some kind of feeling directed her down the hallways, and soon she found herself standing in the doorway of a patient's room.

Her violet eyes drifted around the small room taking in the whiteness of everything. Annoying white snow fell outside the window, and the walls unlike her and Liltotto's room wasn't decorated with anything to make it more homely. The sheets were also stark white, but the fact the forth was practically a hospital explain such starkness. Also in the room sitting on the bed was someone around her age with a white head of hair.

His head hung down buried into his arms and knees so Bambietta couldn't see his eyes let alone his face. Something about the white locks of hair drew her to step into the room, and her hand reached out to touch the soft locks. The other youth didn't move until her fingers brushed against the white locks, and his head jerked up as his arms dislodged from around his legs. Two vivid teal eyes stared back at her as the boy started to move away from her, but stopped.

"I know you." Bambietta's lips moved without her realizing, and she sat down on the edge of the bed. Her violet eyes watched his teal eyes blink a couple of times as his tense muscles suddenly relaxed so his arms fell to his side, and he simply stared at her. Her eyes darted to the window to see the snow falling, and the memory of why she hated the snow came flooding back to her.

The young female Quincy pulled her hand away as she looked at the boy staring at her. " _He's like that person. No, he is that person._ " Her mouth opened this time intentionally. "Do you know who I am?" The young man's eyes drifted to the window for a few mintues to see what she was looking at. " _Does he even see the snow?_ "

"You're the Quincy. You're the Quincy that the other Quincy turned into a zombie as well." The boy turned his head so he looked at her again, and he simply stared.

" _Does he want to say something? No._ " Bambietta let air escape her lips in exasperation. " _He doesn't remember. Why not?_ " Her mouth opened again. "My name is Basterbine Bambietta."

"You're not bothered by the fact I'm a Shinigami?"

The young female felt her jaw drop as she stared at the young man. "Shinigami?"

"I'm the captain of the tenth division. At least..."

Bambietta's eyes narrowed as he drifted off. "What do you mean by at least?"

"At least I was. Don't know if I still am." The boy turned back to look at her, and his bright teal eyes gave away he was thinking about something.

"What?"

"I can't explain it." The boy then spoke in a rather monotone voice. "My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro."

" _That's not right._ "

Another voice in the back of her head laughed. " _Maybe he isn't the person you think he is._ "

"Still... aren't you bothered by the fact I'm a Shinigami?"

"Are you bothered by me being a Quincy?"

The white haired youth stared at her, and didn't say anything. Eventually he looked away. "I don't know."

Bambietta allowed her mind to puzzle over his comment, but couldn't think of what Toshiro meant. She finally let out a sigh indicating annoyance. "I know I don't like Shinigami."

The young man didn't say anything, or try to look her in the eye. Eventually the boy's mouth opened and a few simple words came out of his mouth. "I see."

The urge swept over Bambietta to yell at the boy for being pathetic as well as so indifferent, but something caused her mouth to clamp shut. " _What is this feeling?_ "

" _Fear. You can already sense he's upset with what you said, and if you go off on him he may become even more upset. He's not really as indifferent as you think._ "

The small female moved closer then so she was nearer the other youth. Bambietta placed her face so it was only a few inches away from the others face, and slowly he turned to look at her in the eye. She swallowed once, but continued to look him in the eye without blinking. How long she stared at him she did not know as someone grabbed her clothes by the nape of the neck and yanked her back.

"What are you doing Basterbine?"


	8. Frozen Pathways

Everything felt wrong.

Bazz-B found himself unable to explain why everything felt wrong, but everything felt wrong. The man left the fukutaicho of the forth staring at him from where she sat at her desk, and he proceeded to storm down the hallways with his hand shoved into his pockets. The corners of his mouth twisted into a frown, and the nasty feeling simply wouldn't go away.

" _She has a child. That child is that scrawny little brat._ " The man found himself stopping outside of the door to the boy's room, and he saw a familiar dark haired female sitting on the bed near the boy. Bazz-B's eyes narrowed in annoyance, and when the surprise faded he moved to grab the girl by the scruff of her neck. "What are you doing Basterbine?

The girl looked up at him then, and her violet eyes attempted to bore into his mind. He choose to ignore the death glare, and instead returned one of his own. When she didn't respond he simply pulled her out of the room, and tossed her out. "Shove off Basterbine. Don't be messing with things which don't concern you."

He slammed the door shut, and he turned back to the white haired boy. Toshiro now stared at him with his bright teal eyes wide with fright. The man stepped closer, and noticed how Toshiro moved from where he'd sat when Bambietta was sitting on the bed to the back corner away from Bazz-B. The man walked over and sat down on the bed, and crossed on leg over the other. "We need to talk."

Silence fell over the room as Bazz-B collected his thoughts and waited for the boy, his nephew, to say something. Nothing came and he instead found himself lost in his thoughts. The nasty feeling kept nagging at him, and he found himself looking at the boy for answers as to what was bothering him. " _This child is the kid I fought? What a wuss. My nephew is a damn wuss._ "

His free hand went up to rub the bald part of his head as the frown on his face remained. " _Why do I feel nasty about thinking that kind of thing? I never felt bad for ragging on Cang-Du for getting his ass handed to him, nor do I feel bad ragging on Jugrahm for following Jubach like he did._ " Another thought pierced through. " _He's my nephew. He's also acting differently then before. I don't like the fact he seems terrified of me._ "

Bazz-B turned his head back. "Are you afraid of me?" Toshiro's wide teal eyes stared at him for a few seconds, and then blinked a couple of times as the boy turned his head to look away. The man finally turned away. " _Yeah. He's afraid of me._ "

He simply sat there wondering where he should take the conversation next, but nothing came. A small voice next to him spoke up. "Everybody. _"_

The man looked the boy in the eye only to see Toshiro couldn't look him in the eye. "What?"

"I'm afraid of everybody."

The male Quincy felt his jaw drop slightly, and then clamp shut. " _At least he's being honest._ " The man continued to look at the boy. " _I honestly don't get him. Not that I've really hung out with kids except..._ " Bazz-B's eyes narrowed as something clicked. " _Was he afraid of Basterbine? Must be because they're of similar age."_ The need to figure out what to say next remained, and finally the man thought of something to say. "We need to talk."

Another silence came over the room as he waited for the response. When Toshiro didn't look up, or say anything he took the necklace and looped it over the boy's neck. He watched as the child's head looked up and he found himself able to look into the boy's eyes. " _He's_ _panicking._ _He didn't panic when I fought him._ " He watched as Toshiro looked away, and his small hand went to clench the crest at the end of the necklace. The boy then looked at him, and his eyes flashed with anger. " _Does he want to say something? Why doesn't he say anything?_

Bazz-B looked out the window and saw that the snow began to fall faster to match the boy's fluctating rieatsu. " _It is caused by him._ " Without thinking about what he was saying he started speaking. "What have they told you about your fukutaicho?"

Toshiro looked away, and tried avoiding eye contact. After a few minutes the boy spoke up. "I believe I told you she'll die just like everybody else if I go see her. _Why_ did you take her necklace? She never goes anywhere without it."

The man stared at the young captain taking in what the boy said. Eventually a response formulated. "It doesn't matter whether you go or not. There is a very high chance she won't be waking up." Bazz-B watched as the boy finally made eye contact with him. "Since that's the case why don't you go ahead and at least say your goodbyes and make peace with her?"

Two teal eyes stared at the man, and Bazz-B wasn't sure if the look Toshiro gave him was an indicator of utter hatred, or if the grief was setting in. After a few minutes the boy spoke up with eyes still wide. "Why? Why are you telling me this? Why didn't any of them tell me?"

"Who? The Shinigami? I imagine they feared you couldn't handle the truth. Me, I'm doing this for completely self-centered reasons. I'm not doing it to help you in any way." Bazz-B watched the boy continue to stare at him. The child's shoulders began to shake, and the boy's head hung down. A strange sound as if the boy was struggling with breaths came then, and Toshiro's hands gripped the bed sheets.

The male Quincy then winced as a few tears splashed down staining the bed sheet. The child's rieatsu fluctuated, and the man looked out the window to see the snow was falling faster. A hand went up to rub the back of his neck. " _Man. This kid is supposed to be my nephew?_ " The man could feel his neck stiffen. "Come on. Instead of bawling your head off say what you want to say."

A shudder ran down the man's spine as the thought of taking care of a child crossed his mind. " _I know nothing about this, so why am I even bothering._ " An answer quickly came. " _He's her kid. I've got nothing better to do either._ " He could see the child's shoulders quake as he contemplated how to toughen up the kid, but then the sobs came at full force. " _Seriously! I didn't say anything mean to him, so why is he taking offense. I want to seriously smack him one._ " A sharp fault followed that one. " _That's not how you deal with kids. It's a good thing you never had any."_

Bazz-B took a deep breath. "Hey."

The sobbing slowed down so the white haired child could choke out a few words. "I want Matsumoto."

"Then go to her."

"She said that."

"What..." The man took a deep breath as his frustration grew. " _He's on a different train of thought._ "

"She said that to." The sobbing started to increase. "I don't want her to die."

Bazz-B took a deep breath. " _Did I open a can of worms?_ _I seriously don't know what to do._ "


	9. Frozen Heart

A soft snow fell outside of the first division, and Nanao found her body tensing as worry wracked her mind. The head taicho sat at his desk seeming to work on various papers, but she knew better. The fact Kyoraku made no move to do something about the young taicho of the tenth eased her worry a bit, but the female fukutaicho of the first division knew the man's penchant disregard for any kind of work ethic.

A black butterfly flew through the sky as the storm outside the large, open window continued to fall. Nanao held out her thin finger to receive the messenger, and her entire body went rigid as the words Isane sent rattled through her head. She turned her head to the head taicho as the man continued to pretend to work on paper work. "Kyoraku Taicho?"

The man looked up and took note of the upset look on her face. "What is in Nanao?"

"Isane just sent me a message indicating one of the Quincy is being antagonistic over at the forth division, and she needs me to go over and handle the situation."

Kyoraku stared at her for a few seconds before leaning back in his chair and pulling down his straw hat. "Why you? There had to be a reason why she sent for you."

"It involves the taicho and fukutaicho of the tenth division." Nanao took a deep breath. "Apparently... may I feel you in later? You were there when we were filled in on the fact Unohana requested DNA testing on the two. You also know what the results are."

"Yeah. Go take care of our little captain. Be sure to bundle up warmly Nanao-chan. The temperature has dropped a bit."

The woman used flash step to arrive at the forth division in a quick manner, but the snow still started to fall at a faster rate. The hell butterfly slated quite clearly that Isane didn't know where Bazz-B was. " _How can you not know where he is? He's likely headed back to Hitsugaya Taicho or Matsumoto Fukutaicho's rooms. What ever possessed her to tell that man their secret?_ "

The female fukutaicho of the first division saw and felt something white and cold go flying past her head as she neared the entrance to the forth division. Nanao turned her head to look in the direction the object came in and saw a group of female Quincy playing in the snow. She stepped over, and a sigh escaped out of her mouth in a breath of mist. "What are you girls doing outside?"

The smallest of the girls looked up at her and glared. "It's none of your business Shinigami."

"None of my business? You girls do realize this snow storm isn't natural right?" Nanao felt her body tense up as the instinct to simply take off to take care of Hitsugaya Toshiro tried to take over her sense of duty.

The taller of the two blond haired females stopped putting together a snowball, and turned her head to glare at the woman. "We get the fact it doesn't snow this time of year. Sometimes it does. What's actually to worry about this?"

"Worry?" The woman felt her teeth grind together as she thought of the best way to say what she needed to. "Everybody in the Shinigami knows abnormal snow storms are caused when Hitsugaya Taicho gets extremely upset, and the faster the snow falls the more upset he is. None of you girls are dressed for being out in this weather either."

The Quincy females glared at her with looks of disgust, but still headed inside to get out of the cold weather. Nanao headed towards the room where she knew the young taicho was, and bumped into another one of the female Quincy. The woman felt some of the tension leave at the surprise of bumping into the girl, and then two violet eyes glared at her. The fukutaicho of the first division shook her head as the girl took off. " _That look she gave me is like Hitsugaya Taicho when he's in a bad mood._ "

The tension hurried back as Nanao remembered the note the fukutaicho of the forth sent her, and her steps quickened as she headed to the small taicho's room. She saw the snow falling faster outside of the windows, and her lips pushed together as her frustration grew. Her ears picked up the sound of sobbing as she approached the small room, but she couldn't yet see the young taicho.

"You!" She stepped into the room and grabbed the frame of the doorway in an attempt to control her temper. Her knuckles turned white from the pressure created from the grip on the door frame. A male Quincy sat on the bed with one of his arms resting lightly on his knee, and the other pulled up into a sling. The man's head turned away from her to watch the small taicho next to him.

The man turned his head to look at her, and his facial features indicated he wasn't amused at her appearance. "What do you want?"

Nanao felt her chest tightening slightly right below her throat as she looked at the small taicho sobbing on the bed. " _He doesn't care that Hitsugaya Taicho is right there sobbing._ " She finally let go of the door frame and stepped towards the man.

" _What_ have you done?" The man turned his head to look at the young taicho, and instead didn't say anything. Nanao could see the young taicho trying to take control of his emotions, and one small, thin hand reach up to grab the end of something hanging from his neck. She felt her lips push together. " _He gave her necklace to Hitsugaya Taicho. That..._ " The woman felt her anger grow. "Seriously, _what_ have you done?"

"I simply told him the truth."

Nanao's chest tightened even more. "You... what do you mean?"

The man turned his head so he could look at her again, and the look he gave her made her feel like an intruder. "Is this really any of your business?"

"Right now I'm Hitsugaya Taicho's legal guardian. I'm also a fukutaicho of the first division. This is my business."

"Yeah right."

The woman's arm shot up to point at the door. "Leave! Now."

The man looked at her with the same look which made her feel like an intruder. He remained for a brief period of time, and then he stood up and brushed past her purposefully bumping into her slightly before glaring back at her. She moved over to the small taicho quickly, and she reached out to touch the child's shoulder. She watched Toshiro pull away from her, only to topple slightly as the sobs prevented him from moving quickly.

She sat down on the edge of the bed where the male Quincy sat. "Hitsugaya Taicho?" Nanao felt the corners of her mouth move slightly as she watched the young taicho not respond to his own name and title. "I need you to calm down." Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the snow fall outside of his room. "You need to take control of your emotions right now. Look outside and you'll see it's snowing in the middle of summer."

Slowly the young captain took in deep breaths as he choked on each breath, and the sobs finally stopped. The snow still fell outside, but only a few flakes fell each minute. Nanao took a deep breath. "What did he say to you? Why do you have Ran-chan's necklace? Isane was supposed to be keeping an eye on that."

She watched as the small captain sat up and pulled away to his usual corner. "Is she going to wake up?"

"Why wouldn't she?" Nanao watched as Toshiro's mouth tightened into a frown and his small, thin hand gripped the bed sheet. She turned away from him while her hand reached out to grip the seat of her uniform. "I don't want to give up hope. You shouldn't either even though there is only a small chance of her waking up." She watched as the boy looked up at the ceiling. "Are you going to be all right?"

The white haired child shrugged his shoulders. Nanao remained sitting on the edge of the bed. " _Best to keep him company for awhile._ "


	10. Cold Windows

Seeing the young Shinigami sobbing in front of him left an unsettling feeling in the pit of Bazz-B's stomach. " _Seriously, the kid's to old to be bawling like a baby._ " His entire body tensed up as he watched the boy. " _Should I say something as I'm his uncle. It feels rather weird doing something like that as we're strangers._ " A shudder ran down the man's spine. " _Scratch that. I'm horrible with kids. This absolutely makes no sense at all._ "

The man felt the corners of his lips twist up slightly. " _I really should say something to him about crying like a baby, but some reason I simply can't. I can't tell if I'm taking some kind of sick amusement from this knowing this isn't how he acted during or battle, or if I'm actually find with him being this way. No way I'd be happy with my nephew being a complete wuss. This is just... weird._ "

" _And the snow's also a problem._ " The man continued to stare. " _I seriously don't know what to do in this situation._ " Another thought shot through the back of his mind. " _This sucks_."

"You!"

Bazz-B recognized the voice as belonging to one of the Shinigami. The young taicho remained near him sobbing his head out, and finally he turned his head to look at the woman. "What do you want? _"_ The man glared at her. "Definitely _don't want to deal with any more of the Shinigami today._ "

The look on the woman's face told him the woman's shared equal disgust with him. The fact he told the small Shinigami some of the truth didn't please her either, and then the woman told him _she_ was the legal guardian of his nephew. " _You're what? The fuck you are._ " The look in her eyes told him arguing wasn't an option, and he stood up to leave the room as he shoved his one good hand into his pocket. His mouth twisted down and he walked until he came to a different spot.

Her prone figure lay in the middle of the bed, and his cheeks tightened as Bazz-B restrained his anger. He pulled a nearby chair closer to her bed, and proceeded to sit down in the piece of furniture backwards. He simply stared at the woman for a good chunk of time. "What exactly am I supposed to say to you?"

Nothing changed regarding the woman lying in front of him. In some ways it seemed as if she was simply peacefully sleeping rather then in a deep comma. Eventually it dawned on the part of the male Quincy that he spoke to her quietly. "You know, you really need to wake up and take care of that kid of yours. Or are you waiting for him to come and see you? Do you get the fact he's scared you'll die?"

Bazz-B felt his mouth snap shut and his eyes close. " _It doesn't really feel right talking to her like that. I doubt she really means to not be waking up._ " His eyes opened up after a moment of contemplation. "Look, that kid taicho of yours really is worried you're not going to wake up, and he thinks it's his fault. He even thinks if he comes and visits you that you won't wake up."

"I don't blame him."

The Quincy lifted his head up from the back of the chair. Turning his head to the door he saw a young Shinigami of the forth division standing there. "I'd ask what you want, but I'm honestly more curious as to what you meant about that."

"I can't blame him considering what's happened him in the past. Matsumoto-san's not the first person close to him that's gone into a coma. Hinamori Fukutaicho was comatose for around a month."

"And what relation does this fukutaicho person have with the kid?"

"His sister. To be exact she's his foster sister. They don't exactly act like siblings though, but they were raised by the same old lady in the Rukongai."

"This old lady still alive?"

"I think so, but if you're thinking she can help out Hitsugaya Taicho, it's not going to work."

" _I was thinking of thanking the woman for taking care of Toshiro, but that would honestly be weird. Still..._ " Bazz-B opened his mouth. "What do you mean it won't work?"

"Their granny is apparently rather old, and not very mobile. That means Hitsugaya Taicho has to go to her, but he's not left the room. Normally..." The young Shinigami swallowed. "Normally he would have run off by now to be by himself for a bit. You, do you know which Quincy hurt Hitsugaya Taicho."

The man stared at the youth in front of him. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I just..."

"Just what?"

"It would be nice if he got better."

" _I don't think me apologizing to him will make him feel better, nor will getting some kind of revenge on me._ "

A rather apologetic look appeared on the youths face. "Wait, it isn't as if I was thinking of seeking revenge on anybody. Really I'm not. Nor trying to get the person to apologize." Bazz-B stared for a few minutes and then went back to looking at the woman on the bed. The youth continued to speak despite the fact the man honestly found him annoying. "They're not... a lot of people Hitsugaya Taicho's close to also died."

"Then she'd better the hell get her act together." Bazz-B looked at the woman and closed his eyes and let out a sigh. A hand reached up to ruffle his hair cut.

"Why are you interested in Matsumoto Fukutaicho?"

The man opened up his eyes and stared at the young man. "What is your name?"

"Ah... Yamada Hanataro. I'm third seat of the forth division."

" _The kid don't like like any third seat._ " Bazz-B's eyes drifted to the window and a shiver ran down his spine at the sight of the snow falling outside. " _Shit. That kid of hers is getting worse again. This time it's rather nasty._ "

He turned his head back to the woman on the bed and his eyes blinked a couple of times as he thought he saw her finger twitch. He watched and saw the finger twitch again. The young man hurried forward. "I think she's waking up." The young man's fingers twisted around her wrist, and his mouth frowned. "I'm not sure if her heart beat is increasing though."

Bazz-B stared at the young man. " _He's supposed to be in the medical division._ "

"No, I forgot that you really can't tell this way. This is the way you tell if someone's dead."

The man's eyes narrowed. " _He didn't. No, he did._ " The woman's eyes opened up, and Bazz-B took a deep breath as he caught sight of the eye color he remembered his sister as having. " _It's a dream, a myth. It's not true._ " An uneasy feeling came over him as recognition and fear appeared in her eyes briefly. Her mouth began to move, and the young man leaned over to listen to what she said before she became quiet again. "What did she say?"

"I'm not sure it actually means anything, but she said baby and danger. _"_

Bazz-B stared for a few minutes and then realization hit him as he felt for the bone thin child's rieatsu. He stood up letting the chair fall to the floor with a clatter. "I've got to go. There is something I need to do."


	11. Burning Ice

Two teal eyes clearly saw practically everyone trying to avoid him. The exception of course was Yamada Hanataro who always seemed happy to see him, but then would get a rather sad look on his face. The other young Shinigami would quickly apologize and explain that he hoped Hitsugaya Taicho would feel better. Hanataro of course never used his first name, but then a certain taicho always demanded people call him by his full name.

People though were hiding things from him, and treating him...

… they treated him like the people in his village did as a child. The fact they avoided him didn't escape Toshiro's mind as he watched Isane and the others come and visit. Mostly his visitors consisted of the fukutaicho of the first and forth divisions, plus of course Hanataro. Everybody else stopped visiting after a few days leaving the young taicho alone to his worries. Matsumoto of course never visited once. Thus he knew something was wrong with her.

" _I can't blame them for not coming by. I did after all mess up big time. Shan't be surprised if they strip me of my title either. I wouldn't have minded if my title had been stripped back when we were fighting Aizen 'cause I honestly did what I felt what I had to do. This time though..._ "

" _You may not care about your position as a captain, but you do care about being a disgrace to others. At least when it came to Aizen you wouldn't feel like you were a disgrace. I don't though think young master that this is what is going on._ "

Toshiro turned his head to look out the window to see the snowflakes falling outside, but his mind didn't register the fact his inner world was ending up outside his mind. He did register his own reaction when Isane tried coming to check on him, and he knew the way he reacted wasn't okay.

He was surprised when _that_ Quincy came to see him. The young Shinigami didn't like how he felt with the man around, or the questions he asked. He didn't like the fact the man had Matsumoto Rangiku's necklace. Thankfully Bazz-B was gone and he could sink back into his own dark thoughts. The man's rieatsu bothered him. " _That's because I got my ass whupped by him big time. I wish taicho or Kurosaki had been there to save me. Matsumoto to._ "

" _There's no reason to be thinking such things._ "

" _Yes there is. I'm weak. I'm pitiful. I'm absolutely useless._ "

" _At least you can sense other people's rieatsu. I don't think either of us want to know what would happen if someone actually managed to touch you._ "

" _I've let Yamada take care of me._ "

" _You still trust Yamada._ "

" _It's rather hard not to trust him. Maybe he'll come visit. I feel better when he's here. Safe._ " Toshiro kept his head buried in his arms. " _I know that's strange as I know in a battle I'm more likely to protect him._ "

" _You trust him to never hurt you on purpose and you trust him to never judge you, but instead accept who you are._ "

Something brushed against his hair. Toshiro felt his body tense up, and his head jerk up to see who it was. He couldn't help but stare at the female in front of him. " _How? I'm really good at sensing rieatsu. Why can't I, why couldn't I sense her approaching me?_ "

"I know you." The girl sat down on the bed, and he felt his body tense up even more.

" _You know me, so does that mean I should know you?_ " The girl of course asked the same question and Toshiro wracked his mind of who she was. He remembered then that she was the Quincy, the one turned into a zombie. He could also tell the girl was upset with his answers, and the question came up about whether he was bothered with Quincy."

" _I'm bothered by everybody right now, so..._ " The words came out as, "I don't know."

She then said "I know I don't like Shinigami."

" _Then you don't like me?_ " Toshiro didn't know why this hurt. Hyorinmaru for once didn't say anything so he came to the conclusion on his own. " _I've been rejected again._ "

" _I think there is actually a misunderstanding going on between you two._ "

Surprise over came him when the girl moved closer to him so they were both looking each other in the eye, and the young taicho found himself frozen and unsure what he should do. The Quincy who injured him during the war however came to his rescue and chased her off. This time the man stayed with him to keep him company, and eventually the man asked if he was afraid of him.

" _Am I afraid of him? I've honestly reason to be afraid of him more then anybody else, but truth is I'm afraid of everybody. All I have left is Matsumoto, right? Kurosaki has to go back home, and everybody else is going to move on and forget. And I messed up._ "

"We need to talk."

" _Don't want to._ " Something cold touched his neck, and his head moved so he could see Rangiku's necklace again and he remembered he'd seen the man with it earlier. " _Matsumoto. Where is she?_ " The young taicho looked up at the man not sure what he was hoping to do by glaring at the man, but Toshiro felt like he needed to do something.

What the man said next surprised him. "What have they told you about your fukutaicho?" The truth then came out of the man's mouth, and Toshiro couldn't help but sink as the thought of losing Rangiku settled in. The man said something about self-centered reasons, but Toshiro simply didn't care anymore. The tears began to fall, and yet the man stayed with him despite the fact it had to have made the man uncomfortable.

" _Why? He says it's for self-centered reasons, but then why..._ " Another thought crossed his mind. " _I'm not alone right now._ " The emotions he felt confused him. " _Shinigami aren't supposed to feel emotions._ " Nanao came in soon after and chased the man off. The young taicho couldn't help but over hear the conversation the two had with each other. A lecture finally came about controlling his emotions. " _She's only doing it because she's my legal guardian. She's my legal guardian because I've become a major burden to the Shinigami._ "

Somehow he found himself no longer crying as it felt like his feelings weren't wanted, and an empty feeling settled in. " _Is this what it's like to not feel emotions._ "

After some unmeasurable amount of time Nanao spoke up again. "Hey, have you been eating?"

The small taicho shrugged his shoulders. " _Does it matter?_ "

"Let me go and get you some fresh food."

" _You're looking for an excuse to leave me here._ " Toshiro felt when she left and he found himself looking around the room in a rather dull manner. The nasty empty feeling wouldn't go away, and one hand reached up to clutch the front of his clothing. Somehow his feet touched the ground and he found himself standing up in a manner which wasn't completely stable. Then he was moving silently through the halls to the outside.

The cold and wetness of the outside pierced his body, and he took a deep breath as his muscles relaxed. The urge to run crept deeper in and somehow he took to the roof and hurried off without seeing anything. An ice cold sleet fell around him chilling his skin and piercing through the thin garment he wore. Toshiro also felt the tips of his fingers and toes go numb, and the wet ice stinging the bottom of his feet. " _I've got to get away."_

Every time he said this Hyorinmaru told him to go back. Toshiro didn't listen as his mind felt as numb and hurt in the same manner his hands and feet did. The young taicho also didn't care that his vision was blurring either. He had to run. One wrong step due to lack of energy and he found himself falling from the roof, and his teal eyes looked up at a dark sky as the fear he felt deep down quickly escalated.


	12. Frost Bit

" _That stupid kid._ " Bazz-B felt the young taicho's rieatsu coming from outside of the forth division meaning the boy had left. A vision slipped through his head of how the boy was dressed, and the bandages around the boy's knee. He also remembered the uneaten food next to the boy's trey. " _Damn it. Why didn't I even notice. I know I was mentally razzing him for crying like a baby, but truth is he's mentally messed up big time. I'm such an idiot._ "

He brushed past the fukutaicho of the first division and nearly knocked the trey of food from her arms. When she began to yell at him he simply gave her the middle finger. He also bumped into Candice and Liltotto carrying snacks they likely stole from the forth division kitchen. Both females glared at him as they rushed by, and this time Candice gave him the middle finger while Liltotto's mouth became quite fowl. " _My fault for teaching her that kind of language. What ever._ "

Outside rain came down in the form of sleet, and the temperature was low despite the fact the year was still in the summer months. The weather soaked his clothing to the bone. Not caring he simply pushed forward looking for the small figure with white hair and soon caught sight of the boy up on the room. Bazz-B's teeth ground together as he watched the boy teeter on his own feet. " _Why? Why is he doing this?_ "

Toshiro's small, thin body suddenly tilted to far to one side. The man felt his heart skip a beat as the child slipped from the rooftop. Bazz-B pushed forward using his good arm to remove the other from the sling. Somehow he managed to catch the young taicho as he fell. The sudden weight in his arms caused a surge of pain to shoot through his injured arm, and he let out a curse as he stood up straight.

Bazz-B looked down at the boy clutched tightly in his left arm while his right fell to his side. " _You're seriously a lot of trouble kid._ " The boy's eyes remained shut tight for a few minutes, but then they opened slightly. Bazz-B saw the brightness of the child's eyes replaced with a dullness. The man's facial features for once softened and a sight escaped from his mouth. "You're a lot of trouble you know."

The man watched as one thin hand reached up to grab the front of his clothing, and how the young taicho's clothes clung to his small frame. Bazz-B started forward to get the boy back to the forth division. He tried not looking down at the fragile form in his one good arm, but every so often his eyes drifted down. " _How old are you kiddo? You're puny. Didn't notice so much when I was fighting with you._ "

He continued forward only to hear a sharp voice pierce the sleet falling down. "Stop!"

Bazz-B looked up to see a group of Shinigami starting to gather around him and a curse word escaped his lips. " _I should have been paying more attention._ " His good arm clutched the fail frame of the child closer to his own body, and he formed the hand of his bad hand so two fingers pointed out. Pain lurched through his bad arm. " _Shit. I can't fight. Not without letting him go._ "

The Quincy narrowed his eyes at the men. "What do you want?"

His eyes drifted down to see the young taicho's eyes remained glazed over. Another man spoke up drawing Bazz-B's eyes towards the men. "What do you want with our taicho?"

" _They're from their division."_ Bazz-B glared at the men as others gathered. Each man pulled their zampaktuo.

"None of your business." The man knew with the change in the looks on the faces that the men that he said the wrong thing. " _Doesn't change the fact I don't trust the damn Shinigami._ "

"None of our business? We're talking about our taicho whose unconscious in your arms. How the hell is that none of our business."

"It's our job to stand by him."

"Says the people who took off." Bazz-B saw the look of fear pass over the faces of the men, and he knew they recognized him from the battle.

"Hitsugaya Taicho gave us an order and we obeyed."

"There is no order this time."

Bazz-B continued to glare at them. " _They know how strong I am, so why aren't they backing off? Because they can see I'm injured. Do they realize I can't attack them as I am? Or is it something else._ "

The blades slowly came closer to his body as Bazz-B refused to back down. A voice came from the side. "Wait!"

The man blinked a couple of times when a small figure fell through the Shinigami to the cold ground. The man stared for a short period of time and then recognized the small figure. "You. You're that Shinigami from the forth division."

The young Shinigami stood up and brushed the slush from the front of his uniform. "He's helping me retrieve Hitsugaya Taicho. We need to get him back to the forth division."

Bazz-B watched the men stare at the young Shinigami. One of the men spoke up. "Yamada, you do realize that this guy's the person who injured Hitsugaya Taicho?"

The young Shinigami simply gave the men a blank stare and finally they put up their blades to walk away. Hanataro started to walk back towards the forth division and the Quincy followed after. Bazz-B felt his mouth twist into a frown. "Hey. You do realize I'm the one who hurt your friend right?"

Hanataro turned to look over his shoulder. "So? You're helping him now. Plus..." The young Shinigami turned his head so he saw where he was going only to still trip over his own feet. The young man pushed himself up off the ground and brushed the sleet off the front of his uniform. "Hitsugaya's not the type of person to cling to just anybody."

Bazz-B's eyes darted down to look at the child in his arms. Toshiro's eyes closed shut again, but his small, thin hand still gripped the man's clothing up high. The other hand now gripped lower down. " _I honestly don't get you kiddo. You make me feel weird._ _Her to. Haven't felt this way since I last saw her really. Shit._ " Another thought crossed his mind. "What about her? You just left her there?"

"No. I notified another member of the forth division that she'd woken up."

"How did you know to follow after you?"

Hanataro remained silent for a few minutes. "I honestly really didn't know."

The three arrived back at the forth division and Bazz-B looked down to see Toshiro open his eyes. Something was strange about this child that he couldn't place. They arrived at the forth and walked in just in time for Isane to come hurrying up. The look on the woman's face was frantic. "Nanao got back to Hitsugaya's room and found he'd disappeared. She and a few others are out looking for him."

"The kid's freezing cold and soaking wet."

Isane looked at the small figure in Bazz-B's arms. "Let me take him. I need to begin medical treatment." Her eyes drifted to his arms. "For both of you it seems." The woman reached out for the young taicho only for her to stop short. "Follow me."

Bazz-B found himself following the woman to a room prepped for surgical purposes and set down the young taicho as Isane indicated. Hanataro hurried off for dry clothing and also came back with other Shinigami carrying warm bowls of water as well as blankets. Isane looked him in the eye. "We need to change Hitsugaya Taicho's clothes."

"And..."

"I'm not comfortable with you being in the same room as him while we do this."

"I'm not comfortable with leaving you alone with him either. Let's say it's mutual we don't trust each other."

Isane spent no time arguing with him and simply went to work replacing Toshiro's clothes with warm ones. The cold necklace was removed from his neck and put to the side. She then proceeded to warm his hands and feet in the water baths. Somehow she managed to loosen the child taicho's grip on his clothing and Hanataro was able to take a look at his arm. "Shouldn't his ice abilities prevent him from sustaining injuries from ice."

The woman's head darted up. "Normally. Do your fire powers always protect you from fire?"

" _The answer to that is no. Even against that previous head captain I didn't come out unscathed._ " Bazz-B shoved the hand of his good arm into his pocket. "First degree burns. That's the worst I've ever gotten"

"Frostnip. That's normally the worst I've seen for Hitsugaya Taicho. Looks like there are a few blisters this time." Isane watched as Bazz-B flinched. "They're not bad though, but he's not going to be walking for awhile."

"Isn't that a good thing?" The man rubbed the back of his neck and then caught a glare from the young taicho. Isane looked at him. "It means he can't run off again doesn't it?"

"I wish." Isane turned her head to the young taicho. "You know what happens when you run off like this right? Unohana always posted a guard outside of your door and window."

"With the weather outside wouldn't it be better for their to be a guard inside?" Bazz-B watched as the woman turned to look at him.

"Thank you for volunteering."

"What?"

"You heard me."


	13. Tearing Heart

" _How did I end up in this mess?_ " Bazz-B watched Toshiro simply continued to stare at the ceiling as the woman said something about getting the young taicho to eat from the trey of food next to him. " _I've become a damn babysitter. No way am I going to force him to eat anything._ "

Hanataro finally left telling them both he would be back if they needed anything. Bazz-B stood up to leave at that point. He felt a bandaged hand reach out to grab the sleeve of his uniform and he looked down. "What?"

"Please stay."

The teal eyes of the boy appeared distant. Bazz-B let out a sigh. "I thought I already told you I'm doing this for self-centered reasons."

"I know. I can't blame you for not wanting to put up with me. I wouldn't want to put up with myself with the way I always mess up. I can't blame Matsumoto for not wanting to see me if she wakes up either. Still..." The pause in the boy's voice caused the man to look down to see the boy's eyes close. "... I don't want to be alone."

Bazz-B stared at the young taicho as he tried to figure out what the boy meant. "What do you mean she doesn't want to see her?"

"Isn't that why she's not waking up isn't she?"

"You're a self-masochist aren't you?" Bazz-B yanked his sleeve away from the boy only to regret his action when Toshiro's face twisted up with hurt. " _Hell. What am I supposed to do?_ "

He watched the young taicho turn onto his side so he didn't have to look at the male Quincy. "Just go."

"Oh. Because you figured I care more about her then I do you? I honestly don't get ya, ya known. What exactly do you want from me?"

"Don't know. I really don't know what I want anymore."

The man pushed his lips together and regretted the fact he couldn't fold his arms across his chest. "Question for you. Do you have some kind of death wish or something?"

Bazz-B watched as Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times before the boy turned over to look at him. "Do I want to die? No. Doesn't change the fact I should be dead, and I've honestly outlived my luck. Doesn't change the fact I steal other people's luck like Matsumoto's."

The man looked down at the child taicho turned back over onto his side to look at the window. The Quincy quickly kicked out at the bed leg and the young taicho jumped slightly. "You're just afraid. You're damn afraid."

The boy turned over to look at the man and tried to push himself up. The pain in his hands made his attempt unsuccessful and he fell back with a groan. "Of course I'm afraid! I don't want her to reject me! If I show my face in front of her that's exactly what's going to happen if she wakes up! I seriously messed up during the war with you Quincy! You of all people should know that!"

"I'm not actually one to talk about messing up during that war." Bazz-B looked over at the table as his bottom lip rubbed against his top teeth in frustration. His eyes saw the necklace sitting on the table on the trey, and he scooped the item up.

"Are you going to return her necklace?" Toshiro's head turned to the side so he looked away from the man instead of in the eye. "It's her good luck charm."

"No. I'm not going to return it to her. You are."

Bazz-B watched the young taicho turn to look at him. The teal eyes revealed a distinct confusion on the part of the young taicho. "What do you mean I'm to return it? It's her good luck charm. And in case you haven't noticed I can't walk right now."

The man flicked the chain over a peg sticking out of the wall and let the necklace hang down over the boy's head. "Right now this is _your_ good luck charm. The real good luck charm of hers is you."

Toshiro's eyes widened with excitement, but then hurt appeared. "You're just trying to patronize me aren't you."

Again the child taicho's head turned so he didn't have to look Bazz-B in the eye. The man leaned over placing a hand on the opposite side of the boy to support himself so he wouldn't fall over as he lowered himself to whisper into the boy's ear. The Quincy male could hear the youth draw in his breath tightly and felt the child's rieatsu flare with fear. "The only reason I knew you were in trouble was because she woke up briefly."

Bazz-B pushed himself away, but a small hand reached out to grab his sleeve again. "Wait. Matsumoto, did she really wake up?"

The man heard the pain in the boy's face and yet refused to turn around to look the young taicho in the eye."I don't know. For a brief second she was awake, but I don't know if it was a fluke because you were in trouble. I've got to go and see."

"Do you promise you'll come back?"

The man turned to look at the boy. "Why? Despite the fact you put on a brave face it's rather obvious you're either afraid of me, or you don't like me."

"I _really_ don't like being alone. I would rather have Matsumoto."

"And you're a captain?" The man let out a sigh before running his good hand through the hair on his head. "I'll think about coming back."


	14. Fiery Anger

"Basterbine Bambietta didn't like Bazz-B chasing her off like he did, and the door slamming behind her didn't help her mood. The girls lips pushed together and mentally she fought back the urge to blow something up, but instead her fingers twisted behind her back, and the thoughts in her mind flung around at a fast pace.

Bambietta moved away from the door and headed back to her room, and The Quincy female flopped onto her bed and slammed her arms down onto the pillow above her head. A groan escaped her lips as her hands reached up to twist into the thick curls of her hair. " _Why? Why can't I be near him?_ "

The young Quincy female flipped over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling as her mind tried brushing back the urges to blow something up. Her mouth continued to twist up into a deep frown, and when the other young Quincy came into the room she found herself unable to remove the frown from her face. Candice looked over from the doorway as she entered the room, and flopped down onto the bed across from Bambietta. "What ever is the matter with you?"

"She wouldn't be such a sour puss if she actually went with us." Liltotto rolled her eyes into the back of her head. She sat down next to Candice on the bed shoving the older girl over, and one of her booted feet lifted up to cross her knee. The tip of the foot tapped in a short beat indicating the young Quincy felt annoyed at where the conversation was going. Liltotto finally flopped back onto the bed in the same manner Bambietta did, but instead lay sideways on the bed. "You guys do know that this is our room right?"

"You invited us to play cards with you guys though." Meninas' moutht twisted up into a frown.

"I don't want to play cards!" Bambietta's tone of voice rose up in an angry manner and she flipped over onto her stomach to begin kicking her feet at the foot of the bed in a rapid manner.

Meninas sat down next to her. "Something wrong Bamietta-chan?"

"No."

"I would honestly think otherwise." Liltotto rolled her eyes into the back of her head. "You know what. Let's play cards without Bambietta since she's choosing to be such a sour puss."

The dark haired Quincy reached out for her pillow and pulled the item over her head as a groan escaped her lips. The other female Quincy rolled their eyes, and Candice asked if they should get any of the male Quincy to join. Gigi looked up from her set of cards and let a popping sound come out of her mouth, but Candice countered the idea in a quick manner declaring the young male Quincy which left in the ranks were boring.

For awhile Bambietta managed to ignore the chatter of the other girls, but something kept bothering her. "How dare he kick me out of that room! That's 'my' brother! He's got no business..." The girl shoved herself up from the bed allowing the pillow to flop off her head onto the floor beside the bed. The other girls stopped chatting their usual gossip with each other, but Bambietta didn't say anything to let them know what rambled across her mind. "That seriously does it!"

The young female stormed out of the room before any protests came from the other girls involving the need to remain unnoticed by the Shinigami. She headed to the room she found the white haired youth in and made to slam the door open only to find the door wide open. Her dark eyes blinked a couple of times as she took in the young boy lying on the bed and how his hands and feet were now bandaged. Bambietta stormed over to the bed and leaned over the young man as her words snapped out. "What did he do to you?"

Two bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times and then the young taicho turned his head to look at the girl as his mouth twisted up int a frown and his eyes brightened up even more with curiosity. "Hi."

"Don't hi me. What did he do to you?"

"That Quincy who was in here earlier?" The boy continued to stare at her. "Nothing."

"Your hands and feet are bandaged." Bambietta clenched her fists together. "Let me go blow him up!"

A voice in the back of her head interrupted her train of thought. " _As if you could blow him up with his fire ability countering your own ability._ "

"He really didn't do anything. If it weren't for him I'd probably be worse off." The boy's mouth twisted up into a soft smile.

The girl's dark eyes blinked a couple of times. "What do you mean by that?"

For some reason Toshiro's smile fell and he turned his head away so he didn't have to look at her. "I goofed again. Yeah, I goofed."

"What happened? If he didn't hurt you who did."

"You could say I hurt myself out of my usual stupidity."

"How?"

"I went out into the cold weather without wearing any shoes and dressed only in a small amount of clothes so I caught a bit of frostbite. They say I'll be fine though." Bambietta pushed her mouth tight as she tried thinking of a way to alleviate her frustration and her eyes drifted up to the wall. Her dark eyes blinked a couple of times at the sight of the necklace hanging from the wall, and her hand reached out to touch the item. "Don't. Don't touch that. Leave it right where it is?"

The strain in her brothers eyes made her flinch and her eyes drifted down to the young taicho laying in the bed next to her. Her hand dropped down for a few seconds and then reached up again to form her fingers into a gesture which pointed at the necklace hanging from the wall. "How come you have that? How come you have Bazz-B's family crest?"

She watched Toshiro's eyes blink a couple of times and the confusion on his face cause his bright teal eyes to dim for a few minutes, and then he opened his mouth as the color drained from his skin. "What do you mean it's his crest?"

"I told you what I said. It's Bazz-B's crest. Why do you have it? Did he give it to you? I wouldn't think you would trust him."

"I really don't know if I do or not." Toshiro's mouth twisted into a frown and his right hand lifted up to rest on top of his chest as he swallowed deep. A sigh of frustration came out of his mouth and he returned to look at the wall. "The necklace isn't his or mine. It belongs to my fukutaicho. For some reason..." The young captain closed his eyes and took another deep breath. "For some reason he decided I needed to be the one to return it to her. For some reason he told me I needed it for good luck."

"Where's your fukutaicho?" Bambietta felt her hands clench.

"Don't know. I've not seen her. I..." The white haired youth clenched his hands together despite the pain and his voice lowered so his words came in a dull, low tone. "I don't want to talk about it."

The young Quincy female clenched her jaw tight and ground her teeth as she flexed her fingers, and she turned to leave without noticing the upset look in the young taicho's eyes as she left him alone.


	15. Waking Up

" _I don't want to wake up._ " Rangiku's inner world remained blank and empty as she tried fighting off the nagging feelings and memories threatening to cascade down on her mind. " _I don't want to remember either. It's just to painful._ " The dreams though eventually surged forward when she mentally found herself unable to hold them back anymore. Vivid dreams they were, but when she drifted out in a panicked thought process she found herself pushing the awful memories to the back of her mind and forgetting what she just dreamed about. " _I just want this to end_."

The cascading falls of ashes kept coming back and around her she saw burning buildings. Rangiku turned around thinking she looked at her home in Soul Society and the screams were those of Shinigami, but something told her the place wasn't there or the Rukongai. Perhaps what gave away the unfamiliarity of the voice lay in the sound of her voice, a voice ever so childish calling out the same thing over and over again. "Nii-san! Where are you!"

Then the panic set in and she found herself back in the blank space forgetting what she saw. " _Never do I want to feel as if I'm not protected so I'll protect myself. But then there is Gin isn't there._ " When ever she thought of Gin she found herself spiraling back to the burning buildings, and nothing in the pattern changed. Finally no voice came from her ownself, and off in the distance came the sound of another child. "Mommy?"

"Mommy? Whose calling me?" The cogs in Rangiku's mind turned as instinct kicked in. She pushed her way through the burning flames into a sake bar which she frequented with Nanao and she saw herself there with her best friend. She heard herself speak up. "If I had a child wouldn't it be a girl. I think I had a girl."

"Your drunk Rangiku. Let's head home."

The strawberry blond's eyes blinked a couple of times. "Home. I've got to go home."

She turned and found herself inside of the small shack she shared with Gin growing up and noticed a hand sticking out of a small bundle. Instinctively she stepped forward to what her mind told her was her child, but then another instinct kicked in. "My baby. My baby's in trouble."

Rangiku felt someone take her wrist and the urge not to wake up snapped away from her mental state. " _Is that Hanataro's voice I hear?_ " Her eyes opened up to first see the young third seat of the forth division standing over her, but out of the corner of her eyes she saw a familiar face looking at her. A sudden panic overwhelmed her. " _Danger. My baby is in danger. I know that man's done something to my baby. It's so confusing. I can't move. I've got to say something._ "

Words finally came out of her mouth. "Danger. Baby."

Hanataro for some strange reason told these words to the dangerous man, and the man said, " _I've got to go. There is something I need to do._ "

Rangiku's ability to remain awake faltered and she found herself drifting off into slumber land. Someone nudged her awake and said something about staying asleep for way to long. Her eyes opened up to see Isane. "Rangiku-san?"

"Hi."

"Yamada Hanataro says you were quite delirious when you woke up. You said something about a baby. Do you remember more?" Something about Isane's eyes seemed hopeful, but Rangiku couldn't place it.

"My baby girl was in danger."

"Girl?" Isane flinched at the other fukutaicho's words. "A girl?"

A light sigh left Rangiku's lips. "Sorry. I don't have a baby at all. It's just nonsense." Her eyes moved around the room. "Where's taicho?"

"He... you can see him later. Both of you need to recover." A sound from the hallway led Isane to turn her head. "Sorry. I need to go take care of something. That stupid male Quincy!"

"Wait..." The woman felt her body tense as she tried to look around the room from the sitting position they'd somehow helped her into, but never noticed. " _My baby is in danger. My baby... why am I thinking this things. My mind's foggy from that messed up stuff the Quincy did to me._ " Her lips pushed together as her eyes closed. " _Maybe it was best to just sleep._ "

"Who are you?" The voice from the doorway of Rangiku's room caused the female fukutaicho of the tenth's eyes to snap open and her mouth opened. In the door way stood a girl, and the woman felt her breath draw in.

"You. Do I know you?"

The girl stepped forward. "I asked who you are. I want to know..."

"I think..." Another deep breath filled Rangiku's lungs. "I think I'm your mother."

Two dark eyes stared at her with disgust. "What do you mean you think your my mother?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm going crazy. I just..." The strawberry blond pushed her lips together. "You're the baby in my dreams. The one reaching out. But..." Rangiku felt her excitement drop. "You weren't in danger. You're right here safe. I don't..." The fukutaicho closed her eyes. "Sorry. My mind's muddled. I don't have any children."

A deep pain welled up in her chest area. The girl how ever had something to say. "What connection do you have with Bazz-B?"

"Bazz-B?" Rangiku's eyes snapped open. "Whose Bazz-B?"

"Don't you know? What about that necklace of yours?"

"Necklace?" A sudden panic came over Rangiku as she turned to her head. "I'm not wearing my necklace? Where is it?"

"What's important about that necklace?"

"How should I know? I just know it's something from before... before," Rangiku felt the words snap out. "Well, before I can remember."

"That doesn't make sense."

"I guess it doesn't."

"I hate you."

Rangiku felt another mental pang. "Why?"

"You took him away?"

"Who? Bazz-B? That name..." The female taicho paled as a man with hair done up into a Mowhawk stepped through the door. "You!"

The girl turned her head to look at the man. "It doesn't seem like she likes you."

"Basterbine. What the hell are you doing here? Why are you always interfering and butting in."

Rangiku quickly to in the situation. The man's right arm remained useless in a sling while the other hand shoved deep into his pants pocket. "You..."

"What? You not happy to see me?" The man looked at her and then turned to look at Bambietta. "What are you doing here you miscreant?"

"What am I doing here? I'm visiting my mother."

The strawberry blond woman clearly heard a distinct disgust in the girl's voice and she watched the man's eyes widened. " _She's not my daughter. She's..._ " Rangiku swallowed and knew she needed to say something, but the man beat her to it.

"Don't fuck with me Basterbine. This woman isn't your mother."

"Who says she isn't?" The girl sat down on Rangiku's bed.

"She's just being nice to me because I thought she was my baby when I woke up, but she wasn't in any danger and I don't have any children." The woman swallowed as the man glared at her. The girls small hand reached out to touch her own. " _Her_ _hand reminds me of taicho's._ " The panic Rangiku felt quickly grew. "My taicho. What have you done to my taicho?" Her throat tightened. "You. You attacked my taicho. You hurt him."

The strawberry blond watched as the girl called Basterbine tried standing up only for the man to place a hand on her forehead. "Knock if off Basterbine." The man turned to look at Rangiku. "Your taicho's injuries from the fight between our sides aren't that bad. There are other things to worry about." The man began to shove the girl out of the room. "Like getting yourself to the point you can go see him. I honestly don't get what his problem is."

Rangiku's eyes blinked a couple of times. " _Problem._ " The strawberry blond woman took a deep breath as her throat itched from yelling at the man, or her attempt to do so. " _What's wrong with taicho? What has that man done to my taicho?_ "


	16. Fiery Annoyance

" _That damn kid's annoying._ " Bazz-B left the room and his steps took him towards Rangiku's room. " _Don't know why_ _I'm bothered by all of this. Even wanting something to do with her doesn't make sense. We're strangers now._ " He stopped short when the female fukutaicho of the first division stepped into view. " _Aww shit._ "

The man watched as the woman stopped short. "You."

"What do you want?"

"Isane sent a message that Hitsugaya Taicho was found. She said something about Rangiku also waking up. I'm headed to..." The woman stopped short. "You're headed towards Rangiku's room. What ever for?"

"None of your business." Bazz-B felt a nasty taste on his tongue as the words ' _none of your business_ ' were said yet again that day. " _This whole business is a bunch of shit._ "

"Leave them alone."

The man felt his neck muscles tense up as a familiar female Quincy brushed by him unnoticed by the fukutaicho of the first division due to Nanao's focus falling directly on him. His eyes followed the Basterbine Bambietta as she hurried away towards Rangiku's room. The man shoved his one good hand deep into his pocket. "My business with them is none of your business."

"Didn't I tell you that I'm that child's legal guardian right now?"

"We'll see about that."

"Excuse me?" Nanao's eyes widened. "Are you inferring _you_ are interested in having legal guardianship of Hitsugaya Taicho? You're a Quincy. What gives you the legal right?"

"What gives you the legal right?"

"I'm her best friend. If she'd known Toshiro was hers..."

" _If."_ Bazz-B let the words snap out. "I doubt _if_ would hold up in a court of law unless you damn Shinigami would twist it into your favor just because you're Shinigami and us Quincy aren't. But then I know something that you would rather people not know."

The horrified look on the woman's face was priceless and he bumped into her to head to the room Rangiku was in. He found the woman he was looking for awake and propped up in the bed, but the look on her face made it obvious she wanted nothing to do with him. His attention focused in on the female in the room and his alarm flared up. "What are you doing here you miscreant?"

"What am I doing here? I'm visiting my mother."

Basterbine Bambietta's inability to go anywhere without making trouble kicked in. Rangiku tried to first defend the girl, and then freaked out when she remembered he'd attacked her small taicho. Eventually Bazz-B found himself able to drag the girl out. He spoke to her in a lowered tone. " _What_ do you think you're doing?"

Bambietta looked him in the eye with a blank stare. She then spoke in a rather candid manner. "Why should I speak to the person who hurt nii-san?"

Bazz-B stared at the girl with his mouth clenched shut, and then he remembered something. " _That delusion of hers._ " One hand reached out and grabbed her head. "How many times have we had to tell you that your delusional about having a bother?"

"I'm not. We want nothing to do with you or that woman."

The man glared at the girl wishing he could shove both hands into his pockets. "You're annoying. You've got no business deciding what he does or does not want."

"She's got ties to you. I saw the necklace."

The man drew his breath in and his good hand shot out to grab the front of her clothing. "Basterbine? Did you say anything to him about that necklace?"

"What if I did?"

"You're an absolute moron, that's what!"

The girl hit her face away. "So? He needs to know that woman has ties to you. You hurt him."

"We were fighting on different sides you idiot! Plus he would never turn on her."

"Why? He's got me."

"He doesn't need you. He needs her."

"Why?"

"Because she's his damn mother!" Bazz-B watched as a twinkle appeared in the girl's eye, and her mouth twisted up in anger. "What?"

"So she really is our mother."

The man drew in a deep breath. " _Is she crazy?_ " He watched the facial features on the girls face carefully. " _Something's not right._ " The man let go and rubbed the back of his neck. "What are you thinking Basterbine?"

"I'm thinking of how nice it would be to play nice with her and then when she thinks she's got a daughter who dotes on her then I tell her I hate her."

"What the fuck!" Bazz-B grabbed the back of her clothing this time as she went back into the room. "What are you even thinking?"

"I'm getting revenge for nii-san because she remembers me and not him."

The man tugged on Bambietta's clothing so she stumbled backwards. "There is no way you're his sister. Compared to him intelligence wise you're a slug." He watched as the girl's facial features twisted up indicating she wanted to go vollstandig on him. "Do you understand _nobody_ knows those two are Quincy? I doubt even they realize it." Bambietta's dark eyes widened. "What?"

"Then the reason he got upset earlier when I said I hate Shinigami is because he thought I was saying I hate him? He's a Quincy, not a Shinigami."

Bazz-B tilted his head to see the girl's facial features soften into a panic, and his hand went back into his pocket as his mouth twisted up into a look of triumph. "Do you understand what kind of mess you've created now?"

A bit of fire lit back into her eyes. "Of course I don't."

The man felt the corner of his mouth twitch with frustration. "That kid is the taicho of the tenth division. The only thing he knows is the life of a Shinigami. What do you think would happen to either one of them if everybody found out they're not actually Shinigami or Quincy?" His eyes darted around to see if any of the forth division members were around. "Basterbine. I need to know if you said anything to him."

"I don't know."

"There wasn't anything that caused an odd reaction from him when you last saw him." Bazz-B watched as her facial features twisted up. "You did say or do something stupid. What was it?"

"I just mentioned the fact that was your family crest."

The man cursed under his breath. "Damn it Basterbine." The man pushed by her. "Stop interfering in things you don't understand. You've really gone and messed things up now."

"But..."

"Stay out of this." Bazz-B headed back to the room where his nephew was. " _I've got to keep my promise, but I've also now got to fix what ever damage she's done._ " The man attempted to walk through the doorway, but found himself thrown to the ground in a painful manner as if a barrier stood in his way. He could hear the voice of the small taicho.

"Ise. Please. Take down that barrier. I need to talk to him."


	17. Forgotten and Alone

" _I'm not some child who needs things kept from them._ "

" _The way you took off says otherwise._ " Hyorinmaru's voice echoed through the back of Toshiro's mind.

" _I took off because I can't trust anybody anymore. I could go about my duties and pretend like nothing happened, but right now I don't have any duties. I don't like this feeling._ "

" _It's called agitation. You've still got a bit of growing up to do._ "

Toshiro stared up at the ceiling trying to forget the pain caused by the defrosting of his limbs and the blisters which resulted from his own stupidity. He also tried forgetting how he begged the Quincy to stay with him and the nagging feeling of being alone. " _I shouldn't be reaching out to anybody._ _It just proves..._ " The young taicho paused in his thought. " _It's just something that makes me look childish, and I'm not a child. I'm not allowed to be._ "

"What did he do to you?"

Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times and he turned his head to look at the girl. Something about her presence was soothing, and again the notion hit him he hadn't felt her rieatsu when she approached. "Hi." The girl ranted about the male Quincy having done something and the conversation wasn't pleasant. Then she let something slip and the young taicho felt a panicked confusion set in. "What do you mean it's his crest?"

The girl didn't answer his question, but instead stormed out of the room leaving him asking more questions. Soon after Isane came into the room and the look on her face said something upset her. Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times as he watched the fukutaicho of the first division began to set up a barrier. "Ise?"

"I see you still haven't eaten." The woman sat down next to the young taicho and pushed up her glasses. "You really need to eat. I really don't understand how you can normally act so mature, but right now..." Nanao blinked a couple of times as she looked at the young taicho. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have implied such a thing."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes stared at the woman. He tried adjusting himself to position into a sitting position, but he found himself unable to push his small frame up with his bandaged hands. "Ise. Would you please help me sit up so I can talk to you?"

The woman stared for a few minutes, but then gently lifted him up so his back leaned up against a pillow. "What do you want to talk about?"

"What is it everybody's not telling me?"

"What are you talking about?"

Toshiro watched as the woman swallowed. "You, all of you are hiding things from me. You didn't tell me Matsumoto wasn't waking up."

Nanao took a deep breath. "I see your mental states finally returned to normal."

The young taicho felt his throat tighten. "Did you, all of you keep things from me because you thought I'd completely lose it?"

"That..." The woman swallowed and reached out her hand towards his face. Toshiro felt the fear rise up in his chest and he felt himself pull away. "So you're actually not better and are just putting on a brave face."

"So you are keeping things from me because I've been an emotional basket case." Toshiro looked away. "Don't you think one of the reasons I've been an emotional basket case is because nobodies told me anything? All anybody did was leave me alone." The young taicho shrugged his shoulder slightly as he felt a crick in his neck. One hand reached up to rub the spot, but he stopped himself. "Do you guys understand I'm struggling to trust you guys right now?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho." Nanao's tone of voice drew Toshiro to look her in the eye and what he saw he didn't like. "There are a lot of things you couldn't even begin to possibly understand."

The young taicho stared at the fukutaicho as the corners of his lips twitched. " _Understand? She..._ " His attention drifted from Nanao to the doorway when a loud thud occurred. Toshiro grimaced on seeing the male Quincy sitting on his bottom with a rather pained look on his face while a barrier shimmered between them. "Ise. Please. Take down that barrier. I need to talk to him."

Toshiro watched as a horrified look spread across Nanao's face. "Talk to him? You do know who he is right?"

"No. I don't think I do." The young taicho watched as the man got to his feet.

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm Hitsugaya Taicho."

" _I'm not being sarcastic._ " Toshiro saw the man's facial features twist up in anger and felt a fiery rieatsu flex. The boy swallowed knowing Nanao managed to upset the man. "I think you pissed him off."

"What the fuck are you trying to do woman?"

"I'm keeping you away from Hitsugaya Taicho. That's what I'm doing."

"Did the fact I told you I have more legal right to be his legal guardian then you do _really_ bother you that much?" The man pointed his finger at her. "Don't think I'm going to be backing down bitch."

" _Legal guardianship. Why would..._ " Toshiro turned to look up at the necklace and then at Nanao and opened his mouth to say something, but her hands quickly grabbed his shoulders.

The woman looked him right in the eye and the young taicho saw some kind of fear. "Hitsugaya Taicho. I want you to stay out of this. He can't come past that barrier as it prevents Quincy from going past."

The boy took a deep breath thinking about what he needed to do. "No."

"No. Do you even..."

"How can I understand when nobody explains something to me?"

"He's dangerous. He'll attack us."

"Will you take down the barrier if he promises not to attack."

"I'm not _going_ to take down that barrier until something's done about him. You don't understand that I can't trust him do you?"

Toshiro looked down at the ground and began to move himself off the bed despite the pain he felt. "If you don't remove the barrier so he can come speak to me then I'll go to him."

The young taicho watched as Nanao's eyes widened indicating what he said didn't please her and she placed her hand on his shoulder to try preventing him from getting up. An irritated sound came from the male Quincy causing him to look up and see the man wasn't pleased with his actions. "Kid? Are you crazy? Are you really trying to get yourself hurt?"

" _Is he referring to aggravating my injuries from going outside or something else?_ "

"Look, if you make sure he stays in bed I'll promise not to attack or anything."

"Ise." Toshiro's arms relaxed at his side. "I'll stay put if you let him in. There is something that I need to talk to him about that only he can tell me." The horror on the woman's face wouldn't go away like he hoped it would. "In private as well." A sigh escaped her lips and he found himself pulled into a tight hug, and his cheeks heated up. The heat remained even after she let him go. " _I don't understand. Why is she so worried?_ _This is embarrassing._ "


	18. Choking Fire

Bazz-B watched as the female hugged his nephew tightly. His jaw clenched as he fought back the urge to hurt the woman and the closeness she showed the boy didn't help. The fukutaicho pulled back from the white haired child revealing the white haired child's cheeks heated up with embarrassment. The woman stood up and walked over. Bazz-B took in the annoyed look on her face as she brought down the barrier.

Finishing Nanao spoke up. "Understand I don't trust you. I'm going to give you privacy because Hitsugaya Taicho requests it, but I won't be going far either."

The female fukutaicho of the first division stepped out of the room and to the side of the door. Bazz-B stepped inside the room and slid the door shut. He walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to the boy's bed. Toshiro's cheeks remained flushed. "Women can be annoying."

Toshiro's eyes blinked a couple of times before he carefully moved himself back under the covers. "What ever."

"At least you've got the spunk I saw back when we fought back." The man watched as the boy remained silent. "You wanted to talk to me. Well, I wanted to talk to you. Apparently you had a run in with a female Quincy a bit ago and she told you something."

"Yeah. Bambi nee-chan did." Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "I mean Basterbine did." He looked up at the man. "Why would my fukutaicho's necklace have your family crest at the end? What do you have to do with her?"

"Basterbine's not your sister." Bazz-B noticed the trey of food growing cold next to the boy's bed. " _He's still not eating._ "

"She..." The boy swallowed and looked away. "She and I met before. She was mad that I didn't recognize her earlier."

"Don't feed her delusions kid."

"Except the time we were both turned into zombies isn't the first time we met." The boy looked away. "You're not answering my question. You're just as bad as they are at not telling me?"

"The Shinigami." Bazz-B felt anger rise up and he said something he probably shouldn't have. "I don't trust the Shinigami. Which Shinigami's bright idea was it for you to go to the academy at such a young age."

The man watched the young taicho's eyes widened, and he thought the boy's mind raged at someone calling him a child. Different words came out of his mouth. " _Don't_ talk about Matsumoto like that. If she hadn't found me when she did I'd be dead as well as my granny. I almost killed her with my power. So _don't_ talk about her like that." The boy's hands clenched the sheets of his bed. "And why are you talking bad about her when she's part of your family."

Bazz-B let out a deep sigh. "I didn't know. Certainly explains why you're messed up like you are."

"I'm not messed up. So you can't blame her for that either."

The man blinked a couple of times. "Wasn't. And you are messed up." He watched the boy's continual glare. He noticed the snow falling outside of the room. "The snows still falling." Toshiro's eyes widened and then darted to the window, and a deep breath indicating he didn't like not controlling his emotions. "Just spit it out what you want to say."

Toshiro's hands fell to his side and his hands clenched despite the blisters yet to heal. The child taicho refused to look the man in the face. "What exactly do you want to me? Is the only reason you're being nice to me because you know it will make her happy? Or do you plan on placating me until you find a way to take her away from me?"

"You think I'm going to take her away?" One of Bazz-B's eyes shot up.

"What else? You hate Shinigami, and since she's family of yours then she's at least part Quincy. I don't think you like me either."

"I don't like you because you're a kid."

"I'm not a kid!" A head of white hair turned and two bright teal eyes looked the man in the eye. "I hate them treating me like one because I messed up. I'm all to aware of the fact I messed up and I don't need it rubbed in!"

Bazz-B took a deep breath. "They're not treating you like a child because you messed up. They're worried about you getting hurt."

"Isn't that the same?"

The man picked up on the hurt tone in the boy's voice and watched as Toshiro looked away and continued to clench his hands. "You should stop doing that."

"What?"

"Clenching your hands like that." The man took a deep breath. "It's also not the same thing. They actually care about you."

"I'm just a weapon to everybody." The boy clenched his hands. "The one person I know who cares. You want to take her away."

"Damn it!" Bazz-B stood up knocking over the chair. "I'm not going to fucking take your mother away from you!"

The man's eyes widened as the young taicho began to yell at him. Toshiro's voice strained and quite a few curse words slipped out with what he had to say making Bazz-B's own cursing pale in comparison. "How can she be my mother? She would have told me you stupid!" Neither of the males heard the door slide open and then closed. "She'd never do that to me! She saved me life to many times! Are you telling me she's feeling guilty for abandoning me? She'd _never_ abandon me!"

"How the fuck should I know? She can't even remember I'm her brother damn it!" The man watched as the anger left the boy's face and his facial features softened.

"You're..." Toshiro's bright teal eyes drifted towards the doorway. "Ise."

Bazz-B looked up to see the woman and felt his jaw clench. "You."

The sight of the female honestly wasn't a good thing, and his entire body tensed.


	19. Slowing Snow

So many things now made sense, but so many other things didn't. Knowing the things Toshiro now did in fact didn't make the pain he felt in his heart go away either. The young taicho found himself staring at the two adult and could tell neither one wanted to budge on their particular position. Neither one of them wanted to speak up as they glared at each other, but eventually Nanao spoke up.

"Hitsugaya Taicho, I don't think you can trust this Quincy." The look on Nanao's face said something frightened her. Toshiro's head turned to look at the necklace hanging from a peg above his bed. He pushed himself up despite the pain and began to reach for the necklace. The female fukutaicho's panicked voice increased. "Hitsugaya Taicho. You're going to aggravate your injuries. Please."

" _Don't_ go near him."

Toshiro turned his head to look at the two adults and saw Bazz-B's one good arm stuck out to block Nanao from getting near him. Nanao's eyes betrayed her fear and anger. A sigh escaped the boy's lips. "Could you two please act like adults? The fact neither one of you can't is honestly embarrassing?" He turned back around to retrieve the necklace from the peg and then turned back to plop down into the bed. His bright teal eyes looked up and he saw the two staring at him. "What?"

The man simply stared trying to figure out what the young taicho was thinking, but Nanao's panicked voice indicated placating her might not be easy. "Hitsugaya Taicho. I'll repeat. How do you know you can trust this man?"

The boy let the cold chain slip into his hand as his mouth twisted up into a frown. "How?"

" _The necklace isn't going to be enough. She can say they are lying._ "

"How do you know Matsumoto's my mother?" Toshiro watched Nanao freeze up.

"The Shinigami ran some kind of test which told them it was so."

"Unohana did it. She..." The fukutaicho of the first choked slightly. "She suspected something about sometime during the war. Nobody else though knew until she left Nanao a letter."

"Kurotsuchi had to have known. He's the one who would have done the tests." Toshiro watched the look of horror spread across her face and he felt the corners of his mouth twist up. " _I shouldn't be taking enjoyment in this._ "

"Hitsugaya Taicho."

"Is it possible for him to run additional tests? Can one prove that two people are siblings?"

"Yes..." Nanao blinked a couple of times.

"Then you'd be able to prove whether or not he's Matsumoto's sibling, or Bambi's mine?"

The woman's eyes widened and suddenly her hand reached out to slap the man. "What have you done? You brought another Quincy into your deceit?"

"I didn't bring Basterbine into this. I've already told him not to trust her word. You shouldn't call her that either. She's got major issues kiddo. She kept going on and on about..." Bazz-B's words slowed. "A missing sibling."

"I recognized her though. Not from when we were turned into zombies. I recognized her then as someone I knew."

"And she recognized Basterbine as well." The man took a deep breath.

Nanao took a deep breath. "We can get the tests done, but this doesn't explain to me why you trust him."

"He's the one who went after me when I took off. He's the one who brought me back. There's also Matsumoto's necklace." Toshiro watched as the fukutaicho took a deep breath. "Bambi-chan said..."

" _Don't_ call her that." Bazz-B's voice strained. "Even if she's your sister you need to know she's got some nasty psychopathic tendencies. She _hates_ being called _that_."

"She said this was his family crest."

Nanao took a deep breath and sat down on the foot of the bed as a groan escaped her lips and she buried her head into her hands. "This is a nightmare whether it is true or not."

"Ise..." Toshiro didn't like the way she reacted.

The woman raised her head up and smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. This is something we need to take care of."

"This is my family." The young taicho looked her in the eye. "I've only ever had Hinamori and granny before this.

Nanao didn't flinch but looked him straight back causing him to fidget and look away. "If he's telling you the truth then you're not the eldest male in your family anymore. It's not your job anymore to worry about such things."

"I've no say in any of this? I'm not allowed to know anything?" Toshiro turned his head upon hearing a chair set back up and looked at the man.

Bazz-B sat down in the chair. "I think you should know."

"You. You're just trying to garner favor with him." Nanao snapped as she stood up.

The young taicho looked down at the bed sheets. " _What would have happened had I walked into your barrier?_ " Instead of saying the thought out loud he shook head. "He doesn't like me."

The woman shook her head. "How can he not like you if he's telling you the truth?"

Toshiro looked away thinking carefully until a reason occurred to him. "The person he cares about is Matsumoto. Why should he care about her child or even children? Particularly when we know who the father is?" The young taicho heard Nanao take a deep breath and he turned to look at her with his teal eyes. "What? Who else could my father be?" For some reason Toshiro felt he needed to change the subject. "I'd like to see my mother."

"Hitsugaya Taicho." Nanao visibly flinched. "You do understand Ran-chan doesn't remember that your her child."

"I know. I won't say anything I promise. It doesn't change the fact I want to see her."

"No go." Bazz-B crossed his legs. "Neither one of you is mobile at this point. Can't you be patient and give it a few days? This chick here can arrange what ever tests need to be done in the mean time to satisfy her curiosity, but only if she doesn't let people know you're a Quincy."

Toshiro stared at the man while Nanao's eyes widened. The woman spoke in a rather slow, monotone voice. "Did you call me chick? Did you say he's a Quincy? He's a Shinigami."

"He's a Quincy." Bazz-B looked like he was going to stand up and stick his face into Nanao's and even poke her the chest.

"What's the difference?" Both adults turned to stare at the young taicho. "I mean, why were we even fighting? I never understood that. At least with the Hollows we know they attack and devour people, so I understand why we fight."

"The unbalancing of the..."

"... cycle of rebirth. I thought the reason was because the Quincy decided to completely destroy the Hollow rather then sending them on. Doesn't that mean the Quincy can also just send them on? What is the real difference?"

Bazz-B let out a sound of annoyance. "I honestly don't know."

"Does it really matter if there is a difference or not?" Nanao let out a sigh before placing a hand gently on Toshiro's leg. "You do know what will happen if the other Shinigami find out you and Matsumoto have Shinigami blood? You'll end up ostracized like you did when you were younger."

"How's them finding out I have Quincy blood different then them finding out Ichimaru Gin is my father? Plus I'm used to being shunned by people."

"Doesn't mean you like it." Bazz-B's voice made Toshiro jump.

"A Shinigami's not supposed to have emotions."

"Bull. There is nothing wrong with feeling things. It's what makes you human." The man leaned forward. "I'm taking off."

"So you're just going to leave him by himself?"

"I figure I can trust you since you're actually aware of what will happen to him if people do find out." Bazz-B stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "You should know that I thought she was dead this whole time. I thought she died when Jubach burned our family home down. There are things you don't want to know."

"You're not going to get involved with Matsumoto? Don't you care?" Toshiro blinked a couple of times at the smile spreading across the man's face.

"I do care. She doesn't remember me though so I'll take a back seat. To her I'm the stranger who nearly killed you remember?" Bazz-B seemed to see something on the young taicho's face and then came back and ruffled Toshiro's hair with his good hand. "Look, right now she and I are strangers. That doesn't mean it needs to remain that way. I'll still come by. Just know I'm not into all of these mushy things."

Toshiro narrowed his eyes. "You just told me it's all right to feel things."

"I told you I don't like kids. Don't know what to do with them or how to react around them. There's also mushy and not mushy. You'll get it later on."

The young taicho frowned as the man left the room. Nanao moved over and grasped his face into his hands. "I still don't like him. I think he's going to be a bad influence over you."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes glanced away. "I don't get why you two were arguing about who would have legal custody of me."

"Because Rangiku was in a comma."

"I can take care of myself."

"Says the child who ran out in the storm and got a case of mild frost bite." Nanao took a deep breath. "That Quincy is crass in the mouth, and he's rough around the edges. Look at how much cursing you were doing a bit ago."

"I learned the curse words from other people." Toshiro glanced away. "At least he was willing to tell me the truth despite the fact he honestly doesn't like me."

Nanao took a deep breath. "I don't think he hates you. He's just, I think he's like that with everybody."

"Hmm..." The young taicho closed his eyes. " _How can you tell if someone cares?_ "


	20. Chapter 20

"I want to see my small taicho."

Rangiku sat in the room the members of the forth division placed her in. Something about the Quincy male bothered her. She found herself tight lipped until Isane showed up to check on her. The other fukutaicho stared at her. "You're not ready to see him."

"Then have him come see me. How come he hasn't been to see me?" Rangiku watched as the woman took a deep breath.

"Hitsugaya Taicho's been moody."

" _How_ has he been moody? Tell me. You know I'm the only person who can deal with him when he gets into one of his moods."

"Like..." Isane stopped short and then shook her head. "He thought you would die if he came to see you."

"Then tell him I'm awake."

"He does know. It's just..."

"Just what?" Rangiku stared at the woman.

"He did something stupid and got hurt, so we can't allow him up and about just now."

"How soon until I can see him?"

"Eat. The sooner you get your strength back the better."

"Eating." A thought crossed Rangiku's mind. Panic filled her voice. "Isane? Has my taicho been eating well."

"No. Well, he's eating a bit better now. He's made friends with one of the Quincy females."

Rangiku stared at Isane. "This wouldn't be the one I thought was my daughter, but can't be because I've never had any children? Except she wasn't in danger either, and I thought my child was." She looked at the woman's face and couldn't mistake the usual look Isane got on her face when she was hiding something. "What aren't you telling me?"

Isane let out a sigh before sitting down. "What if I were to tell you that you weren't mistaken?"

"I've never had children."

"Never mind."

Rangiku shook her head and let frustration over take her as she waited to see her small taicho. She finally found herself able to move about although slowly and headed to the room without anyone knowing she was moving. She arrived at the room to see her small taicho playing with the girl she met earlier and something felt nice. " _It's because taicho's playing with someone his age._ "

" _I don't think the fact he's playing cards with her is what's making you happy, but what ever._ "

The woman stepped over and sat on the chair next to the bed the two children sat on. Toshiro held a set of cards in his hand and she could see his hands and feet were bandaged. The girl let out a sigh and lowered her cards. "Come on! Pick something."

"I don't get the purpose behind this game." Toshiro looked up and looked at the girl's hand. "I think I'll pick this one."

"Taicho..." Rangiku watched the boy as he jumped. "I think that's cheating."

"How's he cheating." The girl snapped.

"It's not my fault she keeps showing me her cards."

"Not that I care." The girl set down her cards. "I'm teaching him the game. How else is he going to get it?"

"I'm not that stupid."

"What game are you two playing?"

"What are you doing here old hag?" The words came out of the girls mouth.

Rangiku reached out to pull her cheeks. "What did you call me?"

"Matsumoto..." Toshiro set his cards down. The female taicho noticed the sparkle in his eyes as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I thought you weren't supposed to be out of bed yet."

The woman opened her mouth to say something, but the girl suddenly tackled Toshiro onto his back. "Don't you dare get up! They said you're not supposed to be on your feet." Rangiku watched as the girl began to pull Toshiro's face and his hands went up to pull the girl's hands away. "Don't you do that either. You're hands are still healing to?"

"I'm no invalid Bambi nee-chan so knock it off."

Rangiku's eyes widened. "Nee-chan?" She shook her head pushing back the thought of, " _they're my children_ " with " _I'm being delusional_ ". She instead waited until the girl decided to let her small taicho go and as Toshiro sat up she scoped Toshiro into her arms and heard a squeak from her small taicho. Somehow he managed to escape and she looked at him with her tired eyes. "What happened to your hands and feet?"

"He was stupid and went out in his own ice storm and got frost bite."

The woman let out a deep sigh. "Taicho."

"I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"I mean I'm not doing stupid things anymore."

Rangiku stared at the boy. "You mean you're in control of your emotions again."

"It's all right to let it snow in my inner world. I just shouldn't let it happen outside unless I'm controlling it."

"I..." The female fukutaicho remembered the male Quincy. "Taicho? Did this male Quincy come and see you? You know the one who we fought against after you lost your Bankai?"

"What of it?"

"He..." Rangiku's eyes blinked a couple of times. "So he didn't hurt you?" She watched as Toshiro looked away. "Taicho!"

"He's the one who stopped me doing something really stupid."

The woman let out a sigh as she looked at the young taicho. It was then that a small female blond Quincy came hurtling in. "Basterbine Bambietta! What did you do with our cards! What the _hell_ are you doing with a couple of Shinigami!"

Rangiku took a deep breath wondering exactly what happened while she was asleep.


End file.
